Page 316 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 20 February 1990
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other parties would have taken a much different line - the process of a review was put in place. The Mental Health Advisory Committee was set up and one of its first tasks is to go through the process of a review of the Mental Health Act.
That there are difficulties in the Act has been recognised by service deliverers, by those in need of the services and by the carers of people who need services. With that sort of interest in the issue I think it is beholden on the Government that they consult very carefully with all of the people who would be involved in the process. If the Government does not do anything then political points should be scored, and will be, if no action is taken, but it should not be a political point scoring issue because it is a sensitive issue in the community that needs to be addressed with all haste.
The issues to be addressed are to do with the easing of the suffering of the mentally ill and their families, and in some cases saving lives. They are serious issues which cannot be allowed to go without action. In my view it is not true that the $150,000 budgeted for by Labor would not improve services. I think that it would be a disappointment to all in the community if the initiative were to be scrapped. The money is there and services can be improved if the Government has the will to do it. It has long been recognised that the ACT is underfunded in the delivery of mental health services and whilst $150,000 is not the answer to the problem, it goes part of the way and gets the process under way. What we need is a commitment from the Government that they will do something and do something quickly. Sure $150,000 is not the answer, but it is a good start.
The other issue that I would like to talk about is the review of the Children's Services Act. When the Act was introduced in 1986 it was envisaged that its effects would be reviewed after two years of operation. That time is long past and the pressure is on the Government to get on with that review. Although the review will have costs associated with it we cannot hope to improve the Act and overcome its problems without the review. It is important that the wider community shares in the ownership of the results of that review, otherwise it will not succeed. The review will have to be carefully planned and implemented. I hope that the planning process is something about which we can all agree. Once again, the issue need not be contentious but should ensure that the sector of the community in need is well satisfied by the outcome. I think the most important feature of the outcome is general community ownership of the decision.
The next issue that I would like to deal with is child-care, an important service delivery area in social justice terms. Child-care is important for all families, and in particular for women in society because too often women are held in poverty traps because of their lack of access to
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