Page 3706 - Week 13 - Tuesday, 15 October 1991
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
cost of aged care in our community. In that sense the modest amounts allocated to the function, I believe, may well have to increase in the future. The Attorney will certainly have the support of the Residents Rally, with reasonable submissions as time goes on, if there is any requirement for extra funding in the area. We would not take political points off that issue.
Mr Speaker, I have indicated to the Attorney today that, given the number of brain injury cases that do come into care at times, perhaps some of the NRMA money might be able to be dedicated to that direction. That is a minor point, and I am sure that issue is also under control.
Finally, I would like to congratulate those community organisations who put so many informed submissions together over the last 18 months. I want to record the special work of a number of those individuals, but I will not go into names. They are known in the community. Their involvement in this issue goes back to the Law Reform Commission work and they have been staunch supporters of reform in the area.
I believe that all in this house will support the Bills. There will be a necessary process of change in the detail stage, but no changes which alter the essential aim that we all have, and that is to see a compact series of Bills created to deal with the pressing concerns of those in need of care, those who need protection, and those youngsters in our midst who come within the youth advocate's area.
Above all, in the centre of diplomatic activity in Australia, we have here a model package that other countries, developing countries and older countries with ageing profiles, can look at and learn from, and then understand that, although we may be a small government and we may be a government made fun of occasionally, we can really produce some decent reforms when we put our mind to it.
MR STEFANIAK (8.45): Like my colleague Mr Collaery, I also support the in-principle debate on this package of four Bills. As Mr Collaery said, there is, I think, a bipartisan and very cooperative approach adopted by all parties in this house in relation to these Bills. I would also like to congratulate a number of people in relation to these Bills, including Mr Collaery, who put a lot of effort into them during his time as Attorney-General. That has been carried on by the current Attorney.
Also, a number of groups have put in some very useful suggestions, some of which have been taken up by the Government and other members of this house in the way of proposed amendments. Some have not, but I think the input by a number of community groups has been of great assistance to both the old Alliance Government and the current Labor Government, and indeed the officers of the Government Law Office. Submissions received from Peter
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .