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YALATA
SWIMMING POOL
29 August 2006
Mrs PENFOLD (Flinders): Will the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and
Reconciliation give a firm date for the completion of the swimming pool at
Yalata, where young people urgently need positive activities to prevent them
from falling into unhealthy practices? The pool was supposed to have been
completed before the summer of 2005 but it is yet to be started. It is one
of two pools the Premier promised for Aboriginal communities by the end of
2005. Grave concern was being expressed about the reported incidence of
petrol sniffing which, as everyone should know, is severely injurious to
health, the quality of life and general wellbeing.
The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and
Reconciliation):
We do believe that this is an important initiative in schools for its
therapeutic effect and its relationship with school attendance, but it would
not be prudent to give a firm date for the completion of any construction
project in a remote area of the state. There are real difficulties
associated with that, but we will be doing it as quickly as we possibly can.
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The SPEAKER:
The member for Flinders.
Members interjecting:
Mrs PENFOLD (Flinders):
Thank you, Mr Speaker—and I am still here.
Members interjecting:
Mrs PENFOLD:
Labor Party down 3.3 per cent!
The SPEAKER:
Order! The member for Flinders has the call.
Mrs PENFOLD:
Thank you, Mr Speaker. Will the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and
Reconciliation give a firm date for the completion of the swimming pool at
Yalata that was supposed to be completed before the summer of 2005? Swimming
pools have been shown to improve school attendance and the general health of
children in outback communities, providing urgently needed positive activity
to help them from falling into unhealthy practices. Grave concern is
currently being expressed over a reported incidence of petrol sniffing at
Yalata. Petrol sniffing is particularly injurious to health, quality of life
and general wellbeing of young people who need positive activity.
The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and
Reconciliation):
There is no doubt that the concerns the honourable member raises about
Aboriginal communities, and the pressing need to improve service delivery in
those communities, are shared by the government. I will have to check the
particular detail about which the honourable member is talking. I am aware
that a pool, which is about to be completed at Mimili, certainly has been
delayed. A swimming pool and multipurpose centre has been a shared
initiative of both the commonwealth and state governments in the Yalata
region. We are now receiving some advice and clarification from the Yalata
community about its particular needs for that area. I understand that we are
getting some preliminary expert advice and guidance in that area. This is an
area which has attracted funding through a commonwealth program and which I
think is called Communities in Crisis—or a name of that sort. I know we are
seeking to attract funding to meet the needs in that particular community.
I think the answer to the question is that the pool and the
multipurpose centre are still in the design stage. I think that the costs
associated with constructing any infrastructure in these remote regions is
often much greater than first anticipated. I think the present concern of
the people who are doing the design is how, with the money that has been
found by both the state and federal governments, they can meet the needs of
the local community for both a pool and multipurpose centre. The ambitions
of the local community are somewhat greater than the money allocated for
that area. We are in the discussion phase, but we do acknowledge that pools
have made an important contribution, especially when they have been linked
in certain circumstances to school attendance policies. We understand that
has made a positive difference in some remote and regional communities. We
share the honourable member's concern and, to the extent that there is some
impatience about the delays that are occurring in this matter, we have
resolved to work as quickly as we can to reach a resolution of these issues.
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