South Australia's First Nations Voice to Parliament reforms revealed

Tralina Tucker gave birth to her daughter CaiTanya through an Aboriginal birthing program. (ABC News) Questions have been raised about about whether the SA Voice to Parliament representative body is being sufficiently resourced and funded. Aboriginal Affairs Minister Kyam Maher says the state government is open to making legislative or funding changes to the Voice. Discussions about the body's resourcing needs will continue with the government. Link copiedShareShare articleReforms made under South Australia's First Nations Voice to Parliament are being revealed days after a vote to remove the Voice was quashed in state parliament. As a result of advocacy from the Voice, the state government has started a Safe Birthing on Country practices project to deliver high-quality maternal and infant care across metropolitan and regional areas. The project goal is for a consistent statewide model of care that ensures the health system supports birthing closer to home, where possible. Peter Malinauskas (left) meets with Tralina Tucker and her one-year-old girl CaiTanya. (ABC News) Tralina Tucker had previously given birth through mainstream maternity care but was able to give birth to daughter CaiTanya, 1, at the Ngangkita Ngartu birthing unit at Adelaide's Women's and Children's Hospital. "It's just that cultural understanding when you go through an Aboriginal birthing program," Ms Tucker said. "They just seem to know. You don't have to continuously tell your story. "When you go through mainstream, every time you go for an appointment, it's always somebody different, but when you go through the Aboriginal birthing program, it's always the same faces that you see." The state government said the Voice had resulted in SA Police implementing a recruitment and marketing strategy aimed at First Nations recruits, alongside expanded cultural education initiatives. Other reforms have included improved access to birth certificates and identification for First Nations children and families and funding to design models of care for Aboriginal youth and adults within custody and forensic mental health settings. The Women's and Children's Hospital in North Adelaide. (ABC News: Che Chorley) South Australia became the first state in the country to establish a Voice to Parliament for Indigenous representation to government in 2023. Concerns about a lack of resources, staff and travel funding have been common among elected members. All 46 Voice members receive a stipend of $3,000, while state Voice members receive $10,500 in total and the two presiding members $18,000 each, as well as allowances for some meeting and travel costs. Joint presiding member Leeroy Bilney said the body was in continued discussions with the state government about funding. "It's not resourced properly or accordingly to what I suppose is the expectation and so these are continued discussions that we have with government to say the resourcing needs to be there to back and support the work," he said. Leeroy Bilney hopes his message resonated with members of parliament who had been cynical in the past. (ABC News) A review looking into the Voice is due at the end of the year. "Being this is so new, I don't know if people actually knew what was how it was going to work and what would it look like," Mr Bilney said. "So for us being in the space, we get real feedback in real time on what's actually working, what are the challenges but also what are the solutions." Aboriginal Affairs Minister Kyam Maher said the state government was open to making legislative or funding changes to the Voice. "The Voice has done exceptionally well on the funding that they've had, but, as has been relayed to us, it is difficult for members of the Voice to do that interaction with their local community, so we are talking to the Voice about what may be needed," Mr Maher said. A bill put up by the Liberals and supported by One Nation to repeal the Voice to Parliament failed to win support on Wednesday, with Labor and the Greens voting it down. It was the Liberals' first legislation introduced into the new parliament after Labor's resounding election win in March. Opposition Leader Ashton Hurn said she supported scrapping the body when she became leader last year and then took the policy to the election. "We need to do a lot better as a state to make sure we are closing the gap," Ms Hurn said on Friday. "I think that [for] results for Indigenous South Australians, particularly when it comes to healthcare, there's still a lot of work to do." The Voice to Parliament receives about $1.5 million in state government funding each year. Copy linkFacebookX (formerly Twitter)Top StoriesSocceroos seal World Cup progression with gritty draw against ParaguayLIVE

South Australia's First Nations Voice to Parliament reforms revealed

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