Summary The need for Yalata community to have access to safe, reliable and affordable public transport is long-standing and well-documented.[i] In March 2005, the Federal Government funded a six-month trial of a weekly bus service operating between Yalata and Ceduna. Additional State funding allowed the service to continue until December 2006. In November 2008, almost two years after the service had ended, the Federal Government stated that finding long-term funding for a bus service remained "a high priority."[ii] As of 1 August 2010, the people of Yalata had not had access to any regular public transport to and from Ceduna for over three years. The Paper TrailIn 1997, a South Australian report into "Aboriginal road safety issues" highlighted the pressing need for people living in Yalata to have access to appropriate transport services when journeying to and from Ceduna to reduce the risk of drink driving and pedestrian injury.[iii] According to the report, the significant distance between the two communities - around two hundred kilometres - encourages people to take whatever transport options are available to them no matter how unsafe or unreliable they may be. The report states: The provision of a community bus service would ensure a safer alternative mode of transport for people ... to access medical, shopping, entertainment and other facilities not available in the remote communities. Such a service may also prevent intoxicated pedestrians from being hit by passing motor vehicles while attempting to walk home along major roads and reduce the need for community members to purchase the cheap vehicles that are so often unroadworthy.[iv] In March 2005, the Australian Government provided $50,000 to trial a weekly bus service between Yalata and Ceduna. The funding was provided under a Shared Responsibility Agreement (SRA) that aimed to "improve Yalata Community members' access to a range of services in Ceduna" and reduce the "number of people who have to remain in Ceduna ... due to lack of transport." [v] Promoting the SRA, the Federal Government stated: As Yalata has no medical, legal or similar services, the Australian Government will ... fund a six-month trial of a bus service to Ceduna. The community will develop a set of bus travel rules, the police will train and support bus marshals, and the CDEP will provide bus drivers and marshals.[vi] The trial service commenced operations on 19 April 2005.[vii] At the end of the six-month trial, the State Department for Families and Communities "agreed to provide funding to the value of $100,000 for twelve months to allow the bus service to continue in the short term."[viii] According to the Department, this funding was provided on the understanding that local government would "explore alternative ongoing funding sources beyond December 2006."[ix] In June 2006, all parties involved with the bus service reviewed its performance. They assessed the service "as being a major success" and noted the following highlights: - women and children from Yalata were able to access medical practitioners and other health services in Ceduna on a regular basis,
- people from Yalata were able to purchase fresh fruit, vegetables and groceries at Ceduna supermarkets,
- people from Yalata, particularly women, participated in Ceduna-based activities, and
- a reduction in the number of people stranded in Ceduna due to a lack of transport. [x]
On 28 September 2006, State and Federal Government representatives met with Yalata Community Council to discuss "possible funding sources and options" for continuing the service "on a long term basis."[xi] Prior to the meeting three options were under consideration: 1. that Yalata Community use a community-owned bus to establish its own bus service, 2. that "funding be sourced from Commonwealth and State Government agencies to maintain
the existing contractual arrangements", and 3. that the service "link into bus services operated by other Aboriginal communities."[xii]
After considering various options, the meeting decided: - "that Yalata Community Council would obtain the necessary quotes to identify the costs associated with repairing the existing bus up to the level required of the Department of Transport, Energy and Infrastructure";
- "the Office of Indigenous Policy Coordination would identify possible Commonwealth funding to assist with the repair costs"; and
- "the Yalata Community Council would identify costs required to operate the bus service on an ongoing basis and meet further with relevant parties to identify possible funding sources."[xiii]
In December 2006, the State Government's previous 12-month funding commitment came to an end and the weekly-bus service stopped running.[xiv] The Paper Tracker understands that the shift to a low-cost, community-controlled service was not successful. In April 2007, the State Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation (Hon J Weatherill MP) noted that the community-owned bus had "been in the repair shop in Ceduna for at least five weeks."[xv] As of 6 November 2007, the community-run service had not been operating for ten months.[xvi] At that time, the Member for Flinders (Mrs Liz Penfold MP) asked the Minister to consider providing funds for a private contractor to run a service similar to one that the Government planned to establish on the APY Lands.[xvii] On 20 December 2007, Minister Weatherill stated that the Ceduna/Yalata service would "be self operated and managed by Yalata Community Council". The Minister also indicated that: - Yalata community's bus "still requires repairs" but that these "should be carried out some time this week,"
- the service was expected to resume "not long after repairs are complete," and
- discussions were "taking place with SA Police to trial a community constable being present on the bus service to deal with any misbehaviour, to support Anangu with catching the return trip from Ceduna ... and to detect and confiscate any alcohol attempted to be taken back to Yalata."[xviii]
The Minister also stated that a West Coast Senior Officers Group would be established "in early to mid 2008" and that this would lead to the development of "longer term coordinated solutions ... for a range of challenging areas in the Eyre Peninsula, including the Yalata Bus Service."[xix] On 14 November 2008, the Federal Minister for Indigenous Affairs (Hon Jenny Macklin MP) reported that "long term funding to provide an ongoing bus service for the Yalata community" had "not been secured." The Minister's letter continued: As the creation of this service could relieve the transportation and other pressures facing many of the communities situated along the Eyre Highway, finding a resolution to this issue remains a high priority.[xx] On 27 March 2009, Minister Macklin noted that officers from her Department had "raised the ongoing issue of bus services for Yalata" with senior officers from the State Government's Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation Division "in early January 2009." The Minister also stated that this issue would continue "to be worked through" at the quarterly meetings of the West Coast Senior Officers group.[xxi] Additional information (updated 23 August 2010) On 23 October 2009, the Paper Tracker asked the then State Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation (Hon Jay Weatherill MP) for an update on his Government's efforts to provide Yalata community with access to regular, reliable public transport. In particular, we asked for an overview of the work of the West Coast Senior Officers Group "in relation to the bus service and broader transport issues."[xxii] More than nine months later, in a reply dated 6 August 2010, the new Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation (Hon Grace Portolesi MP) advised the Paper Tracker that the efforts of the West Coast Senior Officers Group had "not resulted in a viable long-term public transport option for the region."[xxiii] The Minister's advice also noted that: - a feasibility study and business plan for the establishment of a regular bus service between Ceduna and Yalata had been developed in 2008,
- this work had examined the option for such a service to be run by a local Aboriginal community organisation,
- the business study had shown "that the service was not commercially [viable] without significant subsidy," and
- "recent quotes to provide a once-weekly bus service between Yalata and Ceduna confirm the challenges" of establishing a viable service.[xxiv]
On 9 August 2010, Yalata community informed the Paper Tracker that its Council had recently decided that a "community bus service was no longer required."[xxv] The Paper Tracker understands that this decision was based on concerns that the establishment of such a service could: - enable some community members to spend long periods of time in Ceduna "indulging in risky behaviors",
- jeopardise the operations of the Yalata community store (if community members travelled to Ceduna to shop), and
- make it possible for people who are not residents of Yalata to travel to the community where they might "become a burden and create overcrowding in houses."[xxvi]
Notwithstanding this development, the Paper Tracker believes there is a well-established need for Yalata community members to have access to safe, reliable and affordable transport options. We will continue to monitor this issue and update this page as additional information becomes available. The Paper Tracker strives to provide accurate and up-to-date information. It believes the above account to be a true and fair representation of what has happened. We will remove any inaccurate information as soon as it is brought to our attention. Please contact us if you have additional information on this matter or can provide us with an update.
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Yalata Commitments 
