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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-10-30 Daily Xml
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APY Lands

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (14:51): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking questions of the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs regarding violent incidents in the APY lands.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: It was reported in the media last Tuesday that police from across the APY lands were called to Pukatja to respond to reports of a fight involving rocks and sticks being thrown. Apparently, TAFE SA staff were forced to barricade themselves indoors in order to remain safe, with some of the town's businesses also closing. Further to these developments, the President of the Australian Education Union (SA Branch) stated:

The unrest in the community reflects deeper, systematic issues of poverty and intergenerational trauma. While events were not connected to the [Ernabella] school or TAFE, their impact is felt by the educators and the children and students they support every day.

In 2024, Mimili Anangu School closed twice due to escalating violence between families in the area. My questions to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs are:

1. What immediate support has the state government provided to TAFE SA and local school staff and students in response to the violence in Pukatja?

2. What long-term measures is the government taking following escalating incidents of violence in the area, particularly in relation to the Mimili Anangu School?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Deputy Premier, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector, Special Minister of State) (14:53): I thank the honourable member for her question. I am happy to go and check but my understanding was that the recent incidents in Pukatja that have been reported involved conflict between two family groups. I am happy to see if there is anything further I can add but certainly from various sources it was reported to me and my office in relation to incidents that have occurred recently in Pukatja.

There are new programs being developed and run in Pukatja for young people in particular. The youth shed in Pukatja that I visited only a month or two ago, with the new swimming pool that has thankfully opened for summer, is running programs for young people in that community. I know in Mimili there are various programs that are being run. I am happy to get a list of some of those and bring them back for the honourable member.

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