On the Right Track: Driving change in remote communities

For many Australians getting a driver’s licence is often seen as a rite of passage - a first taste of independence and adulthood.  But in some of South Australia’s most isolated Aboriginal communities, it has historically been far more complicated than simply booking a test and taking driving lessons. For years, barriers including distance, language, access to identification documents, limited internet access and the absence of local driving instructors meant many Aboriginal people living in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands and surrounding regions were effectively locked out of the licensing system. When South Australia’s On the Right Track program first began operating in the APY Lands in 2015, fewer than one in five people over the age of 16 held a learner’s permit or driver’s licence.  Today, that figure has climbed to around 60 per cent across remote communities stretching from the APY and Maralinga Tjarutja Lands to Ceduna, Coober Pedy, Oodnadatta and parts of the Flinders Ranges. Behind those numbers is a decade-long effort that Department for Infrastructure and Transport (DIT) Deputy Director for Aboriginal Strategy Jade Wilson said has become about more than just teaching people to drive. We spoke with Ms Wilson and acting coordinator Amy Reid about the last ten years of the program and their aspirations for the future.