Page 484 - Week 02 - Thursday, 14 May 1992
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
MS SZUTY (3.57): I would also like to offer a few comments on the situation at Ainslie Village at present. As outlined by Mr Cornwell, the current role of Ainslie Village is to support people in accommodation as long as it is necessary, which will then enable them to move on to fully independent living. Ainslie Village, therefore, has an important role to play in the ACT in supporting people in our community who need that support.
The Minister's decision on not going ahead with the independent consultancy while a supported accommodation assistance program review is pending is a sensible decision. Community organisations are constantly being reviewed in the ACT, and it seems sensible in this case not to have two reviews in the same year. A more rigorous than usual SAAP review is entirely appropriate in the current circumstances, and I commend the recommendation to the Assembly.
MR LAMONT (3.57): I have much pleasure in rising to speak in this debate, particularly given the opportune nature of the Opposition's MPI. It is the first thing this week they have done properly. The announcements of the Minister, I might add, were considered and determined before this matter was placed as an MPI. The history of the supported accommodation assistance program bears a great deal of relevance to understanding the position that we have arrived at in relation to the operation of Ainslie Village.
SAAP was preceded by a range of programs for homeless people. Some were administered and funded by the Commonwealth and others by the States. These programs, introduced during the 1970s, catered for a wide range of target groups and began to shift the focus of service for homeless people from large centres run by traditional charities to small-scale shelters run by local community based groups. That, indeed, was a central part of the strategy.
In 1983 the Federal Labor Government initiated a major review of all Commonwealth and State programs providing support and accommodation to people who were without shelter and to women escaping domestic violence. The review identified a wide range of programs in this area and a variety of issues such as the lack of logic within existing arrangements, the lack of coordination and the excessive complexity, the lack of planning, the inadequate funding for existing services and the lack of coordination and planning across States and between States and the Commonwealth.
The review recommended that the programs be integrated in the new Commonwealth-State cost shared program administered by the States and governed by a five-year Commonwealth-State agreement. SAAP was then introduced in all States and Territories with effect from 1 January 1985. In 1986-87, $75.9m was appropriated for SAAP - $49.1m by the Commonwealth and $26.8m by the States and Territories. The April 1987 census of service providers showed that 1,139 outlets were funded by SAAP, with an estimated bed capacity of 8,382. In the ACT in 1986-87, $2.4m was appropriated for SAAP - $1.5m by the Commonwealth and $900,000 by the ACT. In 1986-87, 16 outlets were funded in the ACT, including three general services, three women's refuges and three halfway houses, four non-accommodation services and three youth services.
In late 1987 the Commonwealth and States appointed a consultant to conduct an independent review of SAAP. The aims of the review were to examine the needs of victims of domestic violence and homeless people in crisis, the effectiveness of SAAP in meeting these needs and the appropriateness of advisory mechanisms
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .