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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2015-03-25 Daily Xml
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Aboriginal Regional Authority Policy

The Hon. J.M. GAZZOLA (15:10): My question is to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation. Can the minister inform the council about the government's Aboriginal regional authority policy?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Manufacturing and Innovation, Minister for Automotive Transformation, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation) (15:10): I most certainly can, and I thank the honourable member for his question. I note the honourable member's longstanding interest in this matter and long service to the Aboriginal Lands Parliamentary Standing Committee. Around the state, Aboriginal people are seeking a more open relationship with government and a stronger voice in government decision-making. To do this, we need a new vehicle to bring together existing organisations and communities to harness community strengths for the common purpose they have, which is to represent and serve the Aboriginal community.

We believe it is important that we support Aboriginal communities to set locally developed and supported priorities and policy directions. We also recognise the need to strengthen the authority that Aboriginal organisations have to speak for country and the Aboriginal people they represent. We listened and pledged to continue to work towards the establishment of Aboriginal regional authorities. We have invited Aboriginal people to help design this policy to ensure it meets the needs of Aboriginal communities.

The Aboriginal regional authority model seeks to strengthen and recognise Aboriginal representative structures at the regional level to assist with enhanced community decision-making and to create a new relationship between government and Aboriginal people. We have taken notice of the evidence, both in Australia and overseas, which suggests that community-driven regional governance can deliver real benefits to Aboriginal people, and we know that strong governance is essential for effective representation, advocacy and coordination of service delivery.

We already have very good examples of Aboriginal community-based governance structures operating in South Australia that manage community businesses in a way that is effective and accountable to the communities they represent. The Ngarrindjeri Regional Authority, for example, is making good progress in establishing a strong voice in their community. I was pleased a couple of weeks ago to visit Camp Coorong and speak to the Ngarrindjeri Regional Authority, and I am very impressed with the work they are doing.

Aboriginal regional authorities, which we envisage would represent particular geographical areas of the state, much like native claimant areas do at the moment, could undertake a range of functions on behalf of their represented communities. It would be necessary to have a high degree of flexibility in the work that Aboriginal regional authorities could take on, given the differing circumstances that these bodies operate in. It is envisaged that Aboriginal regional authorities will be key drivers of economic development and play a central role in the delivery of the state's Aboriginal economic participation strategy, which is currently under development.

Aboriginal regional authorities might also be in a position to deliver or manage services, undertake a land or natural resources management function, or manage heritage and native title matters for their represented communities. However, first and foremost, Aboriginal regional authorities of this nature would have a representative function.

In July 2013, the government began a consultation process which led to some vigorous discussions on the Aboriginal regional authority model. Following this, an expression of interest process was initiated in late 2013 to select four Aboriginal trial groups to participate in an independently facilitated workshop program to test various aspects of the Aboriginal regional authority (ARA) model.

The following Aboriginal groups participated in the concept testing process: the Narungga Aboriginal Corporation Regional Authority and Narungga Investment Company, the Ngarrindjeri Regional Authority, the Port Augusta Aboriginal Community Engagement Group, and the Kaurna National Cultural Heritage Association. However, more detailed statewide consultation is now being undertaken to ensure that the policy appropriately meets the needs of South Australia's Aboriginal peoples.

We are nearing the end of this second round of consultation on a draft policy with Oodnadatta, with the final of 15 sessions being held tomorrow. So far, almost 300 people have contributed to this second round of consultations, with good turnouts at all the meetings. A crucial part of consultation is hearing a voice from all sections of our community, and the meetings, so far, have had a very wide range of voices contributing.

We have had strong representations from Aboriginal communities, with community leaders and elders speaking for their communities. We have also heard from other groups such as Aboriginal health, support and advocacy services, and local, commonwealth and state government officials. Around a dozen groups and communities have requested further meetings to either allow further discussion about individual parts of the Aboriginal Regional Authorities policy, or to bring people who are unavailable for the first sessions to contribute to the discussion. I understand that details of these follow-up meetings are now being worked through.

The feedback to date that has been received from all those involved will be incorporated into the final development of the policy scheduled for release in the second half of this year. Following the release of the final Aboriginal Regional Authorities policy, legislation will be drafted to implement this policy and formally recognise eligible organisations as Aboriginal Regional Authorities.

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