Summary

In February 2006, serious concerns about the safety of the Yalata roadhouse led to its closure.[i] The building contains a large amount of asbestos. The presence of this material has been recognised as "a health and safety concern."[ii]

On 17 November 2009, Yalata community asked the South Australian Government to fund the demolition of the building.[iii] On 28 January 2010, the Government replied that it was “not able to provide grants on the scale required” to demolish the roadhouse.[iv]

The Paper Trail

Introduction

In the late 1970s, Yalata Community Inc. built
a roadhouse alongside the Eyre Highway.[v]

The completed roadhouse sold fuel and other items and served cooked meals. It was also the main outlet for the sale of art and craft works produced in Yalata.[vi]

For many years, the roadhouse operated as a
successful community-controlled business with employment and training opportunities for local Anangu.[vii]

In September 1994, the then Minister for Aboriginal Affairs (Hon Michael Armitage MP) described the roadhouse as:

a successful Aboriginal-owned enterprise serving locals, tourists and the transport industry on the Nullarbor Highway.[viii]

The Minister continued:

The roadhouse is successful, both in financial terms - being substantially profitable - and in providing employment and self-esteem in the local area.[ix]

From the late 1990s onwards, the management and governance of Yalata community declined.[x] This decline impacted on the operations of the roadhouse.[xi]

In 2000, Yalata leased out the roadhouse to a third party. The lease arrangements included provisions for the ongoing involvement of local workers through the Community Development Employment Program (CDEP).[xii]

In 2004, a comprehensive review of Yalata Community Inc. reported that the roadhouse was delivering "one of the better examples" of local community development:

Supervisory activities and on the job training by the lessees of the business appear to be at the basis of the success.  The [CDEP] participants involved consider that this is one of the few positive examples of personal development available at Yalata.[xiii] 

The report also noted, however, that only two of the eight CDEP participants attached to the roadhouse were Indigenous.[xiv]

The closure of the Yalata Roadhouse

In February 2006, the Yalata roadhouse ceased trading after the proprietor raised concerns about the safety of the building.[xv]

An "emergency assessment of the condition and safety of the building" was undertaken by Planning SA.[xvi]

The Paper Tracker understands that this assessment identified serious corrosion in the main structures of the building. This discovery precipitated the issuing of an emergency order
under Section 69 of the Development Act 1993 (SA) and, as it turned out, the permanent closure of the roadhouse.[xvii]

The closure of the roadhouse left Yalata without a working fuel outlet and has substantially delayed the roll-out of Opal fuel to that community.

Proposed demolition

As an abandoned building, the old roadhouse has been subject to break-ins and vandalism, leaving asbestos sheeting damaged and exposed.[xviii]

State and Federal government agencies have been aware of the dangers associated with this site - including exposure to asbestos - since at least October 2007.[xix]

On 18 December 2009, the Federal Office for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health acknowledged "that the old Yalata Roadhouse requires demolition because a significant amount of asbestos is presenting a health and safety concern."[xx]

A month earlier, on 17 November 2009, Yalata community wrote directly to the State Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation (Hon Jay Weatherill MP) about the condition of the old roadhouse and sought funding assistance for its demolition.[xxi]

The community's letter stated (in part):

We are writing to advise you of a matter that is of great concern to the Yalata community ... The roadhouse was closed some four years ago with a Planning SA order placed over it. ... the roadhouse contains a substantial amount of asbestos and requires demolition. In additional the fuel tanks are leaking and causing environmental damage.

The situation has worsened since the closure of the roadhouse due to vandalism and people breaking into the roadhouse. This has left ceilings and walls broken with asbestos exposed... this presents a totally unacceptable situation and potential grave health risk for community members as well as workers (including government employees) living in accommodation nearby to the roadhouse. ...

A quote for works to demolish the structures, remove tanks and backfill the site has been received and is in the order of $400,000, of which a substantial component is the asbestos removal. This cost is outside of the resources of the existing lessees as well as the owners of the property, the Aboriginal Lands Trust.[xxii]

On 28 January 2010, the Minister replied:

Unfortunately the South Australian Government is not able to provide grants on the scale required for a demolition project such as the Yalata Roadhouse site. There may be commercial opportunities for demolition and development through a group such as the Aboriginal Foundation.[xxiii]

The Paper Tracker notes that the Minister’s letter did not:

• acknowledge or respond to the issue of exposed asbestos,
  
  
• acknowledge or respond to the community’s health and safety concerns, or
  
  
• provide any comment on where responsibility for resolving this matter ultimately lies.

Whose responsibility is it?

Determining whose responsibility it is to demolish the roadhouse is complicated by a number of factors. For example:

• the Aboriginal Lands Trust owns the lands on which the old roadhouse is located,[xxiv]
  
  
• the Trust is a South Australian statutory authority with limited financial resources,[xxv]
  
  
• the Trust's day-to-day funding is provided by the South Australia Government via an annual grant,[xxvi]
  
  
• assets on Trust lands are insured through the South Australian Insurance Corporation (SAICORP),[xxvii]
  
  
• the Trust is able to obtain insurance cover through SAICORP because it is established as an instrumentality of the Crown, and any risks to it "should be regarded as risks of the Crown".[xxviii]

Notwithstanding these complexities, the Paper Tracker considers the South Australian Government must address this potentially serious health issue with a degree of urgency.

The Paper Tracker will continue to report on this situation 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.

[i] Aboriginal Lands Trust. 2007, Annual Report 2005/2006, p14. Tabled in the Parliament of South Australia on 22 November 2007.

[ii] Saastamoinem, T (OATSIH). 18 December 2010. Letter to D. Nicholls.

[iii] Smart, M (YCI). 17 November 2009. Letter to Hon Jay Weatherill MP.

[iv] Weatherill, J. 28 January 2010. Letter to M. Smart, Chairperson, Yalata Community Inc.

[v] Grealy, M. 8 July 1977. "A Chance for dignity," The Advertiser, p5. Also: Grealy, M. 26 January 1977. "Aboriginals may get road shop," The Advertiser. The Paper Tracker understands that large parts of the roadhouse building were made from materials salvaged from Maralinga Village (see: Department of Education, Science and Training. August 2005, "A brief history of the current Maralinga Village: 1955-2005," p5).

[vi] Grealy, M. 8 July 1977. "A Chance for dignity," The Advertiser, p5. Also: Gordon, M et al. 1980, At the Roadhouse, Adult Literacy Unit, Department of Further Education.

[vii] Dunstan, D. July 1989. "Aboriginal Community Government: a report by Don Dunstan," Section 6: Aboriginal enterprises.

[viii] Armitage, M. 8 September 1994. "Aboriginal Reconciliation" Hansard, House of Assembly, Parliament of South Australia, p483.

[ix] Armitage, M. 8 September 1994. "Aboriginal Reconciliation" Hansard, House of Assembly, Parliament of South Australia, p483.

[x] SGS Economics and Planning. December 2007, Evaluation of the ‘Communities in Crisis' Policy: Volume 1 - Evaluation Report, p28.

[xi] MLCS Corporate. 2004, "Major Review of Yalata Community Incorporated. Date of Review May 2004," p27.

[xii] See: MLCS Corporate. 2004, "Major Review of Yalata Community Incorporated. Date of Review May 2004," p36. Also:  Hayes, G (PKF Adelaide). 2004, "Yalata Community Incorporated: Investigation and Report on the Accounting Costs to the Community and the Function of the CEO," p8.

[xiii] MLCS Corporate. 2004, "Major Review of Yalata Community Incorporated. Date of Review May 2004," page 39.

[xiv] MLCS Corporate. 2004, "Major Review of Yalata Community Incorporated. Date of Review May 2004," page 39.

[xv] Aboriginal Lands Trust. 2007, Annual Report 2005/2006, p14. Tabled in the Parliament of South Australia on 22 November 2007. See also:  ABC News. 22 February 2006, "Lease issues close roadhouse," Available online at: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2006/02/22/1575583.htm. Accessed 30 January 2010.

[xvi] Aboriginal Lands Trust. 2007, Annual Report 2005/2006, p14. Tabled in the Parliament of South Australia on 22 November 2007.

[xvii] The emergency order notice required the building to be evacuated and for an engineering assessment and certification to be undertaken (Information provided to the Paper Tracker by the Department of Planning and Local Government on 28 January 2010). See also: SGS Economics and Planning. December 2007, Evaluation of the ‘Communities in Crisis' Policy: Volume 1 - Evaluation Report, p34. In June 2006, the Aboriginal Lands Trust noted that the old roadhouse "requires demolition" and described the site on which it is located as "a brown fields opportunity" (Aboriginal Lands Trust. June 2006, "Information Memorandum: Seeking a Party/Parties for the Future Commercial Development and Management of the Head of the Bight Tourist Precinct," p10).

[xviii] Smart, M (YCI). 17 November 2009. Letter to Hon Jay Weatherill MP.

[xix] The Paper Tracker has received copies of emails exchanged by State and Federal Government employees dating back to October 2007 in which the possible threat of exposure to asbestos materials in the old roadhouse are noted.

[xx] Saastamoinem, T (OATSIH). 18 December 2010. Letter to D. Nicholls.

[xxi] Smart, M (YCI). 17 November 2009. Letter to Hon Jay Weatherill MP.

[xxii] Smart, M (YCI). 17 November 2009. Letter to Hon Jay Weatherill MP. In its letter to the Minister, the community states that the reason for the roadhouse's closure included the presence of "a substantial amount of asbestos." The Paper Tracker believes this statement is inaccurate and that the presence of deteriorating asbestos was not a factor in the closure. The Paper Tracker understands that the closure occurred in response to the identification of serious corrosion in the building's columns (information provided to the Paper Tracker by the Department of Planning and Local Government on 28 January 2010).

[xxiii] Weatherill, J. 28 January 2010. Letter to M. Smart, Chairperson, Yalata Community Inc.

[xxiv] The roadhouse is located on a 4563 square kilometre parcel of land held by the Aboriginal Lands Trust. The title reference for this land is CT 5834/851.

[xxv] The Aboriginal Lands Trust is established under the Aboriginal Lands Trust Act 1966 (SA). For statements on its limited financial resources see: Aboriginal Lands Trust. 4 December 2006, "Aboriginal Lands Trust Directions Report"; also: Aboriginal Lands Trust. 4 December 2006, Transcript of evidence given to the Aboriginal Lands Parliamentary Standing Committee, Parliament of South Australia, p92.

[xxvi] The Trust's administrative expenses - including core staff salaries - are covered by an annual grant from the South Australian Government. In 2008/09 this annual grant was around $521,000. (See: Parliament of South Australia. 2009, Replies to Estimates Committee B, 25 June - 1 July 2009, Hansard, p4. See also:  Parliament of South Australia. 30 June 2008, Estimates Committee A, Hansard, p190-191. And also: Aboriginal Lands Trust. 4 December 2006, Transcript of evidence given to the Aboriginal Lands Parliamentary Standing Committee, Parliament of South Australia, p92.

[xxvii] Mazel, J (DPC). 20 March 2007, Letter to Aboriginal Lands Parliamentary Standing Committee, Parliament of South Australia, p5-6; Aboriginal Lands Trust. 4 December 2006, "Aboriginal Lands Trust Directions Report", p[4]. This second document was tabled during a meeting of the Aboriginal Lands Parliamentary Standing Committee, Parliament of South Australia on 4 December 2006. It reads (in part): "The DPC on behalf of the ALT have hedged their approach by taking a ‘blanket' insurance cover with SAICORP over all ALT land and infrastructure. This blanket cover ‘activates' where there are gaps in the private insurance cover of Communities."

[xxviii] On 20 March 2007, the Department of the Premier and Cabinet stated that it had obtained Crown Law advice on the status of the Aboriginal Lands Trust "for the purpose of insurance arrangements." The Department's summary of this advice and its significance reads: "The Crown advised that the ALT is established as an instrumentality of the Crown and that the risks of the ALT should be regarded as risks of the Crown. As a consequence of this advice the ALT was able to gain insurance cover through SAICORP" (Mazel, J (DPC). 20 March 2007, Letter to Aboriginal Lands Parliamentary Standing Committee, Parliament of South Australia, p5-6).