Page 422 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 2 March 1994
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
Firstly, let me deal with the rhetoric from the other side of the chamber. This Government's agenda is a clear signal to Canberrans that the Government proposes to achieve little, if any, reform in this pre-election year. The Chief Minister has made an art form out of avoiding difficult decisions, failing to embrace nationally acceptable reforms and really failing to bring her Government into the 1990s. Let me examine her so-called priorities and highlight the realities of life under her Government, a Government which has run out of ideas - that is, assuming that they ever had any - a Government which prefers to plod along with its "ideology first, management second" approach. Let us look first at her priorities. Ms Follett claims that she will produce a strategic plan for the aged. I am sure that Mr Kaine will say something about that. Let us hope that any plan will actually translate into action, because there has been very little movement at the station so far.
Mr Humphries: Yes, very little movement anywhere.
MRS CARNELL: That is right. Services for Canberra's elderly have been gradually eroded, and the Government has not made any real commitment, particularly in the area of home based care. We still do not have any real indication from the Health Minister about the future of Jindalee Nursing Home. Successive reports have recommended that Jindalee be sold and the funds be used to build modern aged care facilities. Recent statements from the Council on the Ageing have highlighted the need for more nursing home beds and greater attention to the level of care which is actually provided.
The Chief Minister has also conveniently ignored the need for a convalescent care facility. With decreasing lengths of stay - something that Mr Berry is very proud of - and grossly inadequate bed numbers in our hospitals, the demand for long-stay convalescent beds is critical; yet Ms Follett has said nothing of it. Ms Follett says that this year will also see help for young people with disabilities. Let us hope that this help includes a separate nursing home facility for young people and improved respite care; but, of course, we still do not know, because it was not mentioned in the statement.
Mr Wood: What about the revenue raising side of it?
MRS CARNELL: It was the Chief Minister herself, Mr Wood, who said that this was a year when she was going to make sure - her words - that we did something for young people with disabilities. Let us hope that it is something that they really need, such as a nursing home facility or desperately needed improved respite care.
I find the Chief Minister's remarks about unemployment, particularly youth unemployment, hard to swallow. To use her words, "The Government will not rest on its laurels".
Mr De Domenico: Huh!
MRS CARNELL: Yes, I would laugh too, Mr De Domenico. Laurels? You just have to be kidding! I think it is important to have a look at the facts. Between 1990 and 1993, the number of Canberra teenagers in full-time employment plummeted from 5,000 to 2,800. That is a drop of 40 per cent. The number of Canberrans receiving unemployment benefits jumped by 21 per cent last year alone. Across Australia there was an average increase of only 6 per cent. That compares with 21 per cent in the ACT. On these figures,
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .