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For much of the period of time that the Trust has been in operation there has been a complete reliance on volunteers to attend to local development and municipal responsibilities. Mostly this involved little outside pressure, with the Trust responding to requests for funding assistance as identified by the recognised communities. The last decade, though, has seen significant and rapid change away from what might be seen in retrospect as an un-structured, more casual approach.
Both Government and Non-Government agencies are now taking increased interest in operations in the outback, fed by a growth in opportunity and new emphases on financial and legal accountability, in particular. This interest, across, environmental, economic and social sectors, has raised questions of capacity within the communities, ability to embrace change and the ability to capitalise upon change.
Communities are struggling to comply with those expectations for a multitude of reasons, including volunteer burnout, minimal critical mass and lack of understanding of institutional policy and implementation. Outback communities are also facing much greater pressures to be accountable and improve their performance on a wide range of local management issues. These issues were highlighted in the 2005 ‘State of the Outback Report’ commissioned by the Trust.
The Trust believes that preservation of the fabric of community activity and maintenance of essential services and infrastructure in the outback is a matter of vital interest to the wider community in SA, particularly given the need to maintain a support capability for the mining and tourism industries.
The Trust has therefore sought to relieve some of the expectations placed upon communities by developing a more stable agreed mechanism for the provision of assistance that is based upon equitable cost sharing and recognition of public benefit.
Entitled Community Affairs Resource Management agreements (or CARM agreements), they provide a written ‘contract’ between the Trust and each community whereby the community agrees to comply with basic administrative conditions in exchange for investment by the Trust into that community. In essence it is a Service Level Agreement with the community to provide investment in the essential outcomes necessary for the responsible functioning of that centre.
Form 2 - CARM Claim for Reimbursement form
Community Planning
To assist communities identify priority projects within the context of their aspirations for the township or district, the Trust has placed a strong emphasis during the year on both encouraging and facilitating local community planning processes.
Planning workshops and outcome documentations have been partially funded by the Trust at Woomera, Marree, William Creek, Iron Knob, Penong, Fowler's Bay, Copley, and Yunta. The workshops were conducted by Collins Anderson Management, Adelaide under tendered arrangements. The processes were collaboratively funded by the Trust and the Working Towns fund administered by the Northern Regional Development Board.
These plans compliment earlier planning processes carried out with the communities at Blinman, Parachilna, Beltana, Oodnadatta and Mintabie.
The outputs from these processes will also assist the Trust as it completes its own strategic planning process during 2002/2003.
In collaboration with Local Government Risk Services, Adelaide, the Trust has negotiated a blanket insurance cover for all its recognised communities in relation to assets held, public liability and volunteers cover.
The cover is a comprehensive and sound one negotiated at a time of considerable volatility in the public liability insurance market particularly. Pro-rata individual community contributions, based on potential exposure, have been calculated for each community and the Trust is subsidising individual premiums with a 33% contribution.
Public benefit and equity - Fact Sheet
Radio and TV re-broadcast assistance - Fact Sheet
Essential Services Infrastructure - Fact Sheet
Public toilets
The Trust owns and manages public toilets located at various centres in the remote areas primarily for the needs of the travelling public. The Trust meets the cost of water and electricity to each of these facilities and under individual agreements pays local contractors to clean and inspect the toilets. Maintenance is carried out for the Trust coordinated by the Trust's Infrastructure Manager, Bill Ryan.
The cost to the Trust of maintaining these toilets is in the vicinity of $200,000 annually (excludes building costs).
Septic Tank Effluent Drainage (STED) Systems
Septic Tank Effluent Drainage (STED) schemes are operated and maintained by the Trust at Marla and Oodnadatta. These schemes provide for the disposal of sewerage and waste water from household septic tanks by way of a common drainage system carrying waste waters to a pond or evapo-transpiration bed.
The Trust assumed responsibility for the Marla system in January 1991 from the former Department of Lands; and for the Oodnadatta system in 1997 from the Commonwealth Government. The latter system has proved to be a problem one and a recommendation by a consultant engaged in 1996 by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Commission (ATSIC) that the system be replaced by a full sewer scheme is still under discussion in regard particularly to financial contributions.
Waste water treatment units
The Trust operates a waste water treatment units at Blinman and Parachilna that recycle waste water for township beautification. The management and maintenance of this unit is coordinated by the Trust's Infrastructure Manager, Bill Ryan.
Registration and Control of Dogs
The Trust is prescribed as a District Council for the purposes of the Dog and Cat Management Act 1995 and is responsible for the registration and control of dogs in its area. The Trust's General Manager is appointed as the Registrar of Dogs for the area pursuant to section 10 of that Act.
Registration of dogs is carried out for the Trust under agency agreements with post offices and postal agencies and with local government authorities at Ceduna, Whyalla, Hawker and Waikerie.
Registration and expiation fees exceeding $4 500 were collected during the year and a contribution was made to the Dog and Cat Management Board in compliance with the regulatory requirements under the Dog and Cat Management Act 1995.
Link to Dog and Cat Management Board Website: www.dogsncats.asn.au
Dog and Cat management - Fact Sheet
Most of the settlements in the Trust's area of administration are served by Aircraft Landing Area (ALA) airstrips. These have been the responsibility of local authorities since 1991 when the Commonwealth Government's local ownership scheme came into operation. The Trust, Transport SA and the Local Government Association Mutual Liability Scheme (of which the Trust is a member) fund regular inspections by qualified persons of all airstrips where local community organisations have an involvement in their maintenance or where the ALA provides a safety or service facility to the community.
The Trust was a member of the working group that developed a State-wide strategic plan for aerodromes in December 2000 and is a member of the Australian Aerodromes Association.
During 2001/2002 the Trust assisted with the application for, and expenditure of, funding available for airstrip refurbishment from the SA Tourism Commission and Transport SA under the Regional Airstrips Strategy. This funding was targeted at airstrips that would assist and facilitate the activities planned as part of '2002 Year of the Outback' including the commemorative cattle drive down the Birdsville Track. Work was undertaken at Marree, Oodnadatta, Mungeranie and on Clifton Hills Station at the top end of the Birdsville Track.
At Marree, the airstrip was sealed at a total cost of $288 000 of which the Trust and the Marree Progress Association contributed $50 000. In the cases of Oodnadatta and Mungeranie the Trust's commitment has been to facilitate and fund ongoing maintenance programs with the relevant local communities – a process that it will also undertake at Marree.
Recently, the Trust has negotiated an agreement with the Marree Progress Association Inc. for the inspection and maintenance of the newly-sealed Marree aerodrome and is now negotiating an agreement that will vover the airstrip at Oodnadatta. In conjunction with the local goverment Mutual Liability Scheme, the Trust funds regular inspections, by qualified people, of all remote airstrips where local community organisations have an involvement.
Aerodromes and outback ALAs - Fact Sheet
The Trust continues to encourage communities and settlements to participate in KESAB's annual Tidy Town Program. The Trust continues to attend the annual Awards each December, with the Chairman participating in the presentation of the Outback Awards.
Broadly the Trust attempts to assist all its 36 recognised communities when they require some city-based inquiry or investigation. The range of tasks can be considerable and has included advice on equipment availability, meeting procedures, model constitutions, funding applications and the purchase, for one community, of an Australian flag.
