Page 1083 - Week 04 - Thursday, 29 March 1990
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of the comments in this report of the committee chaired by Mr Wood.
Finally, on pages 48 and 49, the report refers to the aged persons' units policy. I entirely support the views of the committee that questioned the appropriateness and the need for review of our policies in this area. Perhaps Mr Wood may say something more on that subject. I have been a close witness to a somewhat bizarre use of that policy recently. In a particular area of Canberra I note there is a sign up now saying, "Units now selling. Starting at $137,500". The advertising blurb that has been issued refers to the use of a warden or something and, of course, a major issue was whether this was really an honest development that involved real care facilities for the aged. Mr Speaker, those who live near that particular development and see the Volvos and Peugeots cruising around on the weekends possibly looking at putting up that sum of money will realise that we should support the views of the committee in indicating that when we approve some of our planning policies we need to look at access, and equity of access also. That was free land for those people. At least one of the occupants is selling in Forrest, I believe, to occupy that unit which was allowed to be developed in that context. Mr Speaker, I do not wish to press that issue. I have been very discreet in my time in the Assembly on that subject.
MR WOOD (12.08): Mr Speaker, I thank those who have spoken in this debate for the support of the report that we have brought down. There is no question that the subject of the ageing is one where it is not at all difficult to obtain bipartisan support. I hope that when the committee brings down its next report, that on fluoride, we may be able to achieve the same measure of support in this chamber.
I am pleased the report was successful and I am confident that we will be able to measure the success of the report as years go past. I appreciate the Chief Minister's comments and his remarks about the realistic aims of the report. Committee members were careful throughout to bring down a report that, to use the Chief Minister's terms, "had no wish lists that could never be achieved". We have a far-sighted report, I believe, but a practical report. I want again to thank my committee members who contributed so much to that and to Dr Ann Scott whose work is invaluable. I believe that the report of the committee does set some pattern that we can follow in the future in other committees in the ways that we relate to the community and the ways the committees work in this Assembly and their relationship to the Government.
In particular today I want to expand on the matter of accommodation. It was one we referred to in the report, but there are some aspects of that that we could not pursue in full because the information we sought was not available when the report was published. I want to refer to the problem that too many people in our community have in
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