Dear Mr Venning,

The Coober Pedy Community Alliance is asking for your assistance in addressing the growing youth crime and community safety problems affecting our town.

We are particularly concerned about the apparent gap between government funding intended to support young people and the services actually visible on the ground.

The National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) lists the Career Employment Group’s EMU (Employment, Mentoring and Understanding) program as a four-year project worth $4,895,664, with Coober Pedy – Umoona specifically listed as a service area.

The program is intended to help First Nations young people aged 15–24 develop skills, obtain training and move into employment. NIAA documentation states that the project is expected to support at least 260 young people across its South Australian delivery locations.

Coober Pedy is an important service centre for the Far North and the APY Lands, yet the town itself appears to have only limited and intermittent access to the youth, employment and justice services needed on the ground.

If governments expect Coober Pedy to carry a regional service responsibility, then the resources provided to the town need to reflect that responsibility.

WE ARE THEREFORE ASKING YOU TO SEEK ANSWERS ON BEHALF OF THE COMMUNITY AND TAXPAYERS:

Q: How much of the $4.895 million is allocated to Coober Pedy – Umoona?

Q: How many Coober Pedy young people have participated in EMU to date?

Q: What training, mentoring, employment placements and other services have actually been delivered in Coober Pedy?

Q: How many young people have obtained employment as a result?

Q: How often are EMU staff physically present in Coober Pedy?

We believe these are reasonable questions when almost $4.9 million of Commonwealth funding has been committed to this program.

There is also an urgent connection between employment support, youth disengagement and the current youth justice situation.

A report published by the ABC on 13 August quoted Police Association of South Australia president Wade Burns as saying a high-risk young offender in Coober Pedy had been granted supervised bail without electronic monitoring because there were no local Youth Justice staff available to fit or monitor the device.

The same report highlighted the serious shortage of police resources in the town, with only eight of 19 positions filled at the time of the report.

This leaves our small and already struggling community carrying the consequences when essential services are not available locally.

We are not asking for more money to simply be announced. We are asking for accountability, measurable outcomes and services that actually reach the young people who need them.

We would appreciate you taking this matter up with the appropriate Federal Ministers and the NIAA, and asking what is being delivered in Coober Pedy under the EMU program and whether the current arrangements are achieving their intended purpose.

At the same time, we ask that you raise with the South Australian Government the serious gap in Youth Justice resources identified by the Police Association.

Coober Pedy needs practical intervention, not another round of announcements.
We would be grateful for your assistance in obtaining clear answers for the community.

Yours sincerely,

Coober Pedy Community Alliance (Committee)
John Di Donna Chair
George Rosewarne Vice Chair
Teena Rosewarne JP
Margaret Mackay Media