Page 61 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 13 February 1990
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MR COLLAERY: In the child support area the Children's Services Act 1986 will be reviewed, with particular emphasis on clarifying the Government intervention role in welfare concerns affecting young persons. The Alliance Government supports the notion that the States should intervene when there are reasonable grounds to believe that young persons are under real threat, whether physical, emotional or by deprivation. We are currently reviewing Government intervention services to ensure that they are receptive, responsive and resolute in areas of child abuse and other matters affecting the welfare of young persons.
The Alliance Government will continue to cooperate with the Commonwealth Government in conducting the home and community care program. This program targets the frail aged, the younger disabled people and their carers. The objective of HACC is to maintain and support frail aged and younger disabled people in the community who are at risk of premature admission to inappropriate long-term residential care, and to assist their carers. The ACT is the only State or territory in Australia whose contribution to the HACC program exceeds that of the Commonwealth. Members may be surprised that the ACT contributes approximately 55 per cent of all HACC funds allocated. The Alliance Government will press the Commonwealth Government to increase the allocation of Commonwealth funds in unmatched grants.
The Alliance Government will coordinate HACC arrangements to ensure that the ageing characteristics of the ACT population which result in the aged staying longer in hospitals in the ACT than is necessary are adjusted with the aim of providing more community options by way of innovative new projects to extend the delivery of support in home help and other independent and semi-independent situations. We will continue to work effectively with carers to implement, wherever possible, a triennial service review to ensure that services are being delivered and are appropriately funded. We will improve accountability for welfare agencies. We will attempt, without seeking to be dictatorial in any way, to reduce overlap in the provision of welfare services, particularly those in the area of substitute care for the young.
Recognising the distress that current high interest rates have caused, we will work within those areas where we have capacity to create an environment of joint effort to combat poverty, especially family poverty and social disintegration. In particular, we will look towards innovative programs that involve the community in doing more for itself by using welfare funds wisely and in a fashion that will be self-generating.
There is a great need for bipartisanship in some areas of welfare concern, and I have alluded to that already. Votecatching should not extend to creating victims. I was saddened recently by comments by a certain member of the Opposition suggesting that we were going to sell off inner city housing. The only two current sales were those
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