Page 3113 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 15 September 1993
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suitable for their needs. The Government, through the ACT Housing Trust, has already been involved in several joint venture projects with community groups and private enterprise. The Abbeyfield House and Goodwin Gardens joint ventures have been successful in expanding the range of accommodation options for older people, and the Government supports the concept of similar developments occurring in the future. The Government recognises the heterogeneity of the ACT community and its diverse needs through the principles and policies of the Territory Plan. This plan allows for a wide variety of housing types, including dual occupancy. The flexible approach taken by the Territory Plan provides encouragement to older people to remain resident in their localities even when their housing requirements change.
In keeping with this approach and in response to the committee's report, the Government will, as part of a study into expanding housing options available to aged persons, consider the viability of introducing a scheme which would enable people to rent or purchase a mobile home from the Government. Furthermore, the Government will examine the innovative homeswap and homeshare schemes with a view to assisting a broader range of older people in the ACT. The Government will continue to assist charitable not-for-profit organisations with exemptions from land tax to facilitate the provision of aged accommodation.
Madam Speaker, it is important to recognise that my Government shares responsibility for aged care with the Commonwealth Government. The Government is currently pursuing with the Commonwealth a number of matters which focus on improved services for older people in the ACT, including the case for an increased allocation of nursing home and hostel beds to take into account the estimated 25 per cent of nursing home residents in the ACT who used to live outside the ACT. I am also pleased to advise that additional funding has been provided through the home and community care program to extend the hours of Respite Care Inc. and Dickson and Burrangiri day care centres to include some evening and weekend options. In addition, the Government is negotiating with the Commonwealth for a review of funding arrangements for home and community care funding and for dementia specific units. The long-term future of Lower Jindalee will also be examined. The Government is currently considering the most appropriate site for a new facility. At the same time the Government will examine options for caring for young people with disabilities who are presently catered for in aged persons nursing homes.
The improvement of access by the aged to all relevant information is strongly supported by my Government. However, we do not believe that the one-stop shop approach proposed by the committee is the right way of addressing any problems that exist in this area. We would be concerned that a one-stop shop as proposed by the committee could limit access by a large number of aged persons. The ACT government shopfronts provide a wide range of government information and they are conveniently located in the major town centres. My Government will examine ways of further improving the range and delivery of information specifically relating to the aged at shopfronts. Another recent initiative of my Government to improve communication with ACT Housing Trust tenants and in particular to provide information about maintenance support for older tenants has been the establishment of a maintenance hot line. The tenant newsletter has also been improved and aims to provide useful information for older people.
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