Page 4444 - Week 14 - Thursday, 9 December 1993
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I turn now to recommendation 16. This is a call for the Housing Trust to "review its general maintenance and support policies for the elderly in public accommodation". The Government's response is:
The Housing Trust will investigate the issues raised in the report about lack of information and maintenance support for older tenants.
Again, I would be interested to hear the Minister for Housing's response to that particular issue at some time. Recommendation 19 states:
The ACT Government actively pursues with the Commonwealth the need for changes to the current funding arrangements for dementia specific units to make them more cost effective thus making it possible to create more full time dementia beds in the Territory.
There is a rather surprising statement here, for a Government that Mr Lamont has been interjecting "keeps on delivering". It is:
As in other States, all ACT hostel beds for people with dementia are in the non government sector.
What is this socialist Government doing to provide some dementia beds?
Mr Lamont: What absolute hypocrisy on your part!
MR CORNWELL: You have been interjecting constantly. Are you just dumping it over to the non-government sector when it is suitable to do so?
Mr Kaine: When it suits them.
MR CORNWELL: When it suits them. How is this:
The Government will raise this matter with the Commonwealth, on behalf of the non government sector ...
I think that is a cop-out. Recommendation 20 states:
Additional respite beds be made available in the ACT and that, where possible, these additional beds should be co-located with nursing home beds.
The Government response says:
This occurs because respite care beds have a greater number of non occupied bed days than do nursing home beds, thereby producing a significant loss of potential revenue for the nursing home.
This is why we do not have as many respite care beds. I would suggest that recommendation 19 and recommendation 20 should be coordinated with recommendation 7, which draws the Commonwealth's attention to our unique situation in respect of nursing home beds and respite care. I would again commend that approach to the Government.
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