APY Lands face welfare controls
BY: SARAH MARTIN, SA POLITICAL REPORTER From: The Australian May 04, 2012 12:00AM
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THE quarantining of welfare payments on remote Aboriginal lands in South Australia is expected within months, as the government announced plans for a new wave of the federal intervention.
Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin, an advocate for income control in disadvantaged regions, will today announce the first step towards quarantining welfare payments in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands in SA's far north.
Ms Macklin will hold talks today in the community of Mimili, 1200km northwest of Adelaide in the APY Lands, and announce a $2.8 million family support package for the troubled region. Most funds will go to a new Financial Wellbeing Service in the communities of Amata and Mimili to help people manage their money.
Ms Macklin yesterday told The Australian an intensive eight-week period of community consultation on income management will begin next week.
She also will discuss the move with the APY executive and the Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Women's Council.
"Discussions we have held with the NPY Women's Council and the APY executive have shown us that people are interested in continuing to progress work assessing whether income management would be a useful tool for people in the APY Lands," Ms Macklin said. "We want to hear . . . people's views on income management."
Ms Macklin is expected to make a decision in July.
The Australian reported in January that Aboriginal leaders in the APY Lands believed a new intervention was being planned by the federal government in the next six months, as they understood it to be a top priority for Ms Macklin. Last October, the Coalition and federal Labor declared their intention to introduce income management in the APY Lands.
This came amid concerns about the SA Labor government's handling of the region and reports of people running short of money for food.
Aboriginal leader Noel Pearson has advocated a Cape York-style model of reform for the APY Lands, allowing voluntary or compulsory income management.
Indigenous Social Justice Commissioner Mick Gooda and Women's Council patron Marcia Langton have criticised the government's failure to respond more urgently to food security concerns in remote SA communities.
Ms Macklin said the government would be outlining various models for consideration, but said a proposal by the Women's Council for income quarantining to be available to salaried workers was not on the agenda.
"If people who are on wages want to make sure their income is protected, they can use other methods themselves," she said.
Mental health and family support services will also be boosted under the funding, allowing for more social workers in communities. "(It) will help us build capacity to respond early to the needs of children and young people at risk of mental illness, working with families and community organisations to offer intensive practical assistance," Ms Macklin said.
A cross-border family violence intelligence initiative based in Alice Springs will be funded at a cost of $600,000.