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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2015-06-17 Daily Xml
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APY Elections

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS (15:13): My question is to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs. Minister, will you update the chamber with regard to the results of the recent APY elections? Is the minister confident that those elections were carried out in a fair and proper manner?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Manufacturing and Innovation, Minister for Automotive Transformation, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation) (15:13): I thank the honourable member for his questions and his very genuine and ongoing interest in Aboriginal affairs, particularly matters to do with the APY. I might answer his last question first in relation to the conduct of the elections.

My office has had a number of discussions with the office of the Electoral Commissioner, who investigated any concerns that people had in the conduct of the elections and was satisfied that the elections were conducted as they usually are. I think in most elections—not just elections in the APY lands but elections everywhere else, including state elections—there are concerns that people have sometimes over how things were conducted.

Certainly, I know that there were some concerns raised, and the Electoral Commissioner's office did investigate some of the concerns and reported back that, as far as they were concerned, things happened as they had in the past and were in order in the elections.

I can inform the honourable member that the results of the elections were: in the Amata ward, Owen Burton was elected; in the Railway Bore/Wallatinna ward, Ronnie Brumby was elected; in the Turkey Bore ward, Gary Lewis was elected; in the Iwantja ward, Bernard Singer was elected; in the Irintata ward, Murray George was elected; in the Kanypi ward, Anton Baker was elected unopposed; for the Mimili ward, Ken Pumani was elected; for the Kalka ward, Milyika Paddy, or Mrs Paddy, was elected; for the Pukatja ward, Trevor Adamson was elected; and for the Watarru ward, Charlie Anytjipalya was elected unopposed.

I can further inform the honourable member that earlier today the newly-elected APY Executive met for the first time and elected a chairperson from amongst their own. I am very pleased to say that, from the Kalka community, Mrs Paddy was elected as Chairperson of the APY. I think she is the first woman to be elected to that position, and I have put a call in but wasn't able to speak to Mrs Paddy. She was still in the APY Executive meeting, but I will be talking to Mrs Paddy as soon as I can and congratulating her on her election as Chairperson of the APY Executive Board. I look forward to working with Mrs Paddy and continuing some of the positive steps that we have made over the last couple of months, and certainly since the appointment of the new general manager, in increasing accountability and transparency within the APY.

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