Page 1534 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 2 May 1990
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in unsafe situations. Ideally, the perpetrator of abuse, not the victim, should be removed from the home.
This strategy, Mr Speaker, also provides part of our practical response to the findings of the National Committee on Violence. The Alliance Government is implementing all principal recommendations of a recent review of domestic violence legislation. A planned review of the Children's Services Act will see a move towards early and resolute intervention in abuse cases.
We have moved away from opening new crisis refuges for homeless young people towards providing support for longer-term solutions. This has been part of the response to the problem of refuge hopping - that is, when a young person who needs accommodation for an extended period has to continually move through short-term services.
Crisis services are nevertheless an important first stop, where a young person's needs can be assessed, and intervention and intensive support can be provided. They are also a valuable "time out" option when families are having problems, especially if there is no easy access to extended-family support, which is a feature, many say, of the ACT. If it is not possible for the young person to return home, longer-term, stable options are important so as not to disrupt the young person's lifestyle, particularly his or her education.
Mr Speaker, as a response to the Burdekin report, the Commonwealth offered over $2m additional nationally for innovative services for young homeless people in 1989-90. The ACT Alliance Government is matching the ACT share of this funding. This includes SAAP, CAP and health funding. So as to be certain that this funding would be used most appropriately, a seminar was held with the community to consider the greatest unmet needs of homeless young people in the ACT.
Mr Speaker, I am happy to say that the response to this process has been enthusiastic and has resulted in seeding grants being given to a number of organisations to further research and develop detailed submissions for proposed services. It is hoped that services will be proposed which address the needs of young people with difficult and multiple problems who may currently be missing out, sadly, on help. The new service or services funded as Burdekin initiatives will receive recurrent funding and should become operational later this year.
In response to a deeply felt concern for the health of vulnerable young people in the ACT, we have funded an additional youth health worker for the Red Cross Youth Health Service. This worker is based in the Woden Youth Centre and brings the team up to three workers. Youth health workers are an integral part of the network of youth services provided in the ACT.
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