Page 320 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 20 February 1990
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providing real opportunities for women rather than applying bandaid solutions to the most obvious problems. Our policy on the status of women will be a comprehensive and long-sighted vision for ACT's women's concerns. One of the areas which I can announce now is that a particular emphasis will be on opportunities for women to be economically independent. Within this context, of course, we will continue to provide the crisis and support services which offer immediate assistance to women in need.
In the area of the ageing, the Alliance Government will be guided by the report of the Social Policy Committee into the needs of the ageing. This is a report which I initiated as Leader of the Opposition and its findings represent the results of extensive consultations. I note that this inquiry was initiated over the objections of Labor, now in opposition. I will be releasing the Government's response to this report in the next sitting. It will be a comprehensive report addressing the needs of, amongst others, the frail aged and the self-managing ageing people. I can foreshadow now that we will be accepting nearly all of the recommendations and will be adding some important initiatives of our own. I acknowledge, without reservation, the work done by Mr Wood as chairman of that committee in producing such an excellent report.
Mr Wood: And the committee.
MR KAINE: And the committee, of course. Canberra's population is an increasingly ageing one. That is not news to anybody. I see action in this area as one of my Government's top priorities.
The Alliance Government is committed to the well-being of families and has already released its family policy. Many of our policies address viable families, and I will shortly be releasing a report on how our policies will be implemented. In particular we are concerned to address the causes of family breakdown and to identify the particular needs of families in the ACT. To this end the Government has joined a ministerial Commonwealth-State committee on the needs of children recently called by the Prime Minister.
My colleague Bernard Collaery will be releasing statements of substance in the near future about the youth sector. He is engaged in extensive consultation to determine what the real needs of the sector are, and I believe he is in a position to receive positive suggestions about realistic improvements in that particular area.
The Government supports the findings of the Burdekin report and the Government's submission to the Burdekin inquiry that sets out our implementation plans will be available shortly.
In relation to people with disabilities, the Alliance Government is developing a strategy that will ensure that
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