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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2022-07-06 Daily Xml
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Pangula Mannamurna Aboriginal Corporation

The Hon. R.B. MARTIN (15:06): My question is to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs. Will the minister please update the council on the important work of the Pangula Mannamurna Aboriginal Corporation?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Attorney-General, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (15:07): I certainly can, and I thank the honourable member for his question and his interest in Aboriginal health generally. During the government's recent visit to Mount Gambier as part of our country cabinet trip—which I am happy to talk about more generally, as I have in the past—I was pleased to visit Pangula Mannamurna Aboriginal Health Corporation, along with my colleague the member for Kaurna, the Hon. Chris Picton, the health minister.

Pangula Mannamurna is an Aboriginal community-controlled health organisation based in Mount Gambier on the lands of the Boandik people. The word 'pangula' means a place where a doctor or a healer can be found, and 'mannamurna' means joining hands. Pangula provides health and wellbeing services for Aboriginal people right across the Limestone Coast. Since it was founded in 2014, it has aimed to be a one-stop shop where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people would have access to health and wellbeing services either on site or through referrals to other services.

The health services provided on site include a culturally appropriate and sensitive medical clinic, Aboriginal health checks, a consultant midwifery service, and a team focused on tackling Indigenous smoking. Pangula also provides community programs including men's and women's groups, an Aboriginal parenting program and an Anangu playgroup. The Anangu playgroup, for example, provides a safe and friendly place for parents and children to meet other families in the community so that they can bond and take part in activities to support the social and emotional development of their children.

During my visit I was shown the three healing circles constructed on the site where many of these community programs are run. Each of the three healing circles is rich in cultural iconography and serves as a meeting place where members of the community can meet and share knowledge. Over the past few years I have witnessed the construction of the healing circles on my regular visits to Mount Gambier, and Pangula in particular, so it was a pleasure to be able to see these healing circles finished.

Pangula Mannamurna is an active member of the South Australian Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation network, which was established in 2019 to better lead the engagement with the Aboriginal community in South Australia, particularly in relation to the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.

It was a distinct pleasure to meet with the staff at Pangula Mannamurna to discuss the important service they provide to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the Mount Gambier community and to catch up with people who I grew up with in Mount Gambier, who now work there. Pangula holds a special place for me: it was the last place my late mother worked as a social worker before she finished her working life, and she was also for some time chair of the board at Pangula Mannamurna. I applaud the work of all the staff and their outstanding contribution.

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