The Paper Tracker has previously highlighted a number of unfulfilled commitments and community concerns.
The following updates provide information on recent developments.
Click on an orange heading to read the full story.
The Paper Tracker is changing
posted 2 August 2012
Over the next six months, the Paper Tracker project will be strengthening and sharpening the focus of its work. This will include building a new website. Throughout this period of transition, no new information will be posted on the “Latest Updates” page.
SA Police: APY and Yalata Community Constables
posted 31 July 2012
In June 2011, South Australia Police completed an evaluation of the Community Constable program operating on the APY Lands and in Yalata. The “internal evaluation” recommended that the job description for these positions should be “adjusted”. More than a year later, strategies to implement this recommendation are “still in the developmental stage.” A copy of the evaluation report – obtained under a Freedom of Information request – has been posted on this website (file size: 878KB).
Yalata: access to Opal fuel
posted 26 July 2012
Petrol sniffing has been a recurring problem in Yalata for over 30 years. Non-sniffable Opal fuel is not yet available in that community. The timeframe for providing Opal fuel to Yalata was recently extended by six months, to early 2013. This is the sixth time that the timeframe for this work has been extended.
The Mullighan Inquiry Task Force
posted 11 July 2012
Four years ago, the South Australian Government established a Task Force to “drive” its response to the 46 recommendations of the Mullighan Inquiry into child sexual abuse on the APY Lands. Between May and November 2008, the Task Force met nine times. Since then it has met much less frequently. The Task Force last met on
21 March 2012. Yesterday, the Government advised the Paper Tracker that its next meeting is “being scheduled for early August” but that the date has not yet been confirmed.
Parliamentary Committee: key information online
posted 11 July 2012
Last month, South Australia’s Aboriginal Lands Parliamentary Standing Committee obtained some detailed information on the cost of establishing market gardens in remote Anangu communities. It also obtained information on the findings of an audit of APY staffing housing. All of this information is now available online.
Amata and Mimili: government expenditure statements
posted 7 July 2012
Last September the Coordinator-General for Remote Indigenous Services (Mr Brian Gleeson) asked the Australian and South Australian Governments to publish – by the end of 2011 – a detailed account of how much funding is being spent in Amata and Mimili. To date, this has not happened.
Coronial Inquest: six Anangu deaths
posted 6 July 2012
Last year, the South Australian Coroner’s Court conducted an inquest into the deaths of six Anangu men and women. Alcohol abuse and homelessness were strong factors in the death of each person. In response to the inquest’s findings, the State Government is preparing a report of “actions taken.” The Government originally said this report would be provided to the Coroner’s Court in May 2012. This did not happen. Yesterday, the Government advised the Paper Tracker that developing the report had become a “more complex task” which “required more time.” The Government expects to complete the report “in the near future.”
APY Lands: staff housing
posted 5 July 2012
There are over 600 houses in the main APY communities and administrative centres. More than 40% of them (252) are designated staff housing. The number of staff houses located in specific communities ranges from 2 in Kanpi to 44 in Pukatja. The agencies and organisations with the highest number of staff houses on the APY Lands are the Department of Education and Child Development (90 houses), Nganampa Health Council (38 houses), and South Australia Police (26 houses).
APY Lands: new Mintabie lease
posted 1 July 2012
A new township lease agreement for Mintabie, signed earlier this year, comes into effect today. It is hoped that under the new lease arrangements, Anangu will have greater capacity to minimise the negative effects that Mintabie has had on their lives.
Pukatja: access to the internet
posted 30 June 2012
Data from last year’s census has confirmed Pukatja’s status as South Australia’s largest remote Aboriginal community. It has also revealed an alarming digital divide. Whereas over 90% of the non-Indigenous households in Pukatja have internet access at home; not a single Anangu household (0%) has internet access at home. This census data underscores the need for governments to establish free public internet access somewhere in Pukatja.
APY Lands: community profiles
posted 30 June 2012
In 2009, the Federal Government engaged a consultant to prepare community profiles of seven APY communities. The profiles were supposed to help government and Anangu accurately measure the effectiveness of key programs and services over time. Earlier this year, the Coordinator-General for Remote Indigenous Services (Mr Brian Gleeson) expressed concern that the baseline data gathered in these profiles was “not being used … to inform local planning in the way intended.”
State Plan: Aboriginal Strategic Plan
posted 30 June 2012
More than five years ago the South Australian Government announced that it was developing a comprehensive Aboriginal Strategic Plan. By March 2009, a draft plan had been developed and ratified by the chief executives of government agencies. At this point, the project was put on hold pending the final outcomes of broader negotiations. This week, the Government confirmed that work on the draft Plan had been “superseded” by the signing – in early 2011 - of the Overarching Bilateral Indigenous Plan between the Commonwealth of Australia and the State of South Australia to Close the Gap in Indigenous Disadvantage: 2010 – 2015.
Extending the rollout of Opal Fuel: proposed legislation
posted 28 June 2012
In outback South Australia, at least two roadhouses have refused to stock Opal Fuel. Proposed legislation, currently before the Federal Parliament, would solve this problem and strengthen efforts to combat petrol sniffing. The South Australian Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse (Hon John Hill MP) does not believe the proposed legislation is needed. In his view, the existing approach of encouraging roadhouses to voluntarily sell and supply Opal fuel “has been very successful”. Nor does the Minister believe any “further action at the State level is required at this time.”
Aboriginal Lands Trust: review of Act
posted 27 June 2012
The South Australian Government has announced it will repeal the Aboriginal Lands Trust Act 1966 three and a half years after a much-needed review of the Act began. In a statement made yesterday, the Government said a “draft bill” to repeal and replace the existing Act was being prepared. The Government is aiming to introduce its legislation into Parliament by June 2013, following “targeted consultation”.
APY Lands: voting in State elections
posted 25 June 2012
South Australians last went to the polls to elect a new State Government in early 2010. On the APY Lands, voter turnout was very low. In part, this may be explained by the lack of any voting guides in Pitjantjatjara/Yankunytjatjara. Last week, the Electoral Commissioner advised a Parliamentary Committee that, in the run up to the next State election, some materials will be translated into these languages.
APY Lands: trade training centre in Umuwa
posted 23 June 2012
Work on the construction of a $7 million trade training centre for Anangu school students is “progressing well”. One of the main buildings is expected to be completed by the end of next month. This building will be used to deliver automotive, construction and metal fabrication training. The APY trade training centre will be officially opened on 24 October 2012.
APY Lands: dialysis bus
posted 14 June 2012
The Northern Territory Government’s mobile dialysis bus will visit the APY Lands five times over the remainder of this year. Each visit will allow some Anangu patients to receive dialysis in or near their home communities. The first of these visits will be to Amata community on 25 June to 1 July where six patients are expected to receive dialysis treatment.
APY Lands: 2012 election of APY Executive Board
posted 7 June 2012
Last Friday, Mr Charlie Anytipalya was elected to the APY Executive Board as the representative for the Watarru electorate. Now that all ten Executive Board positions have been filled, a required course of corporate governance training can begin.
Click here to read the Updates from April and May 2012.
Note: The reference for any document cited on this page is included in the full, updated story – click on the orange heading to go to that page.
This page has been archived. It remains accessible online as a source of background information for anyone wishing to undertake further research on any of these matters.
