Community Notice 8 January 2010

However in late November 2009, PY Media notified APY that it was renting out the Pipalyatjara house to a construction company for $500/week and wanted to
NOTICE OF TRADITIONAL OWNER MEETINGS
 
Advance notice is given of a meeting of traditional owners for Amata, Mimili, Pipalyatjara and Umuwa to attend a meeting at Umuwa in February 2010 to discus PY Media’s request for 5 year leases of a house in each of the identified communities.
 
These houses were constructed for the purposes of short term visitor accommodation for PY Media so that trainers and other consultants would have accommodation when they visited communities to provide training to Anangu.

However in late November 2009, PY Media notified APY that it was renting out the Pipalyatjara house to a construction company for $500/week and wanted to rent out the Umuwa house to the Anangu-ku Arts for $500/week and the Amata and Mimili houses to the government to house the two Government Business Managers at a rent of $500/week each.
 
This would amount to an annual income for PY Media of about $96,000 and leave nowhere for short term media workers to stay.
 
Because it was not possible for APY to consult TOs at the end of last year, APY offered PY Media an NGO contract to allow it to carry on business from the above houses and other premises but on the condition that APY collect and hold the $96,000 rental income until instructions from traditional owners were received.
 
Additionally, APY offered to pay to PY Media, in the short term, money out of the rent collected to enable PY Media to employ Anangu in communities, which is what APY has been told that PY Media proposes to do with the money collected from rent. This is a risk for APY as it may lose any such money paid, if TOs object to the rent being used in this way.
 
This seems to have caused some unhappiness however APY must act under the APY Land Rights Act to protect the interests of traditional owners. APY has already partially funded PY Media by renting office space in PY Ku, Indulkana.
 
The key issues for consideration by the TOs will be: change of use from short term visitor accommodation, sub-lets to the two GBMs/Art Centre/construction company and what is to be done with the $96,000 rent.
 
APY will provide travel assistance for relevant traditional owners to attend the meeting.
 
Final notices of the meeting will be issued closer to the proposed date. 
 
Bernard Singer
Chairperson
Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara
8 January 2010