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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 10 Hansard (23 September) . . Page.. 3152 ..

MR SPEAKER: You have the opportunity to explain where you have been misquoted or misunderstood. I repeat: Do not push your luck.

MR BERRY: Mr Speaker, Mrs Carnell said that there was a Director of Mental Health Services and was referring to the speech that I made. The Mental Health (Treatment and Care) Act makes it clear that there has to be a Director of Mental Health Services appointed by the Government and that the person must be a psychiatrist.

Mr Kaine: On a point of order, Mr Speaker: Mr Berry is out of order.

MR SPEAKER: I uphold the point of order. Mr Berry, I think, is now finished with his explanation.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

Motion (by Ms Tucker) agreed to:

That leave of absence for today, Tuesday, 23 September 1997, be given to Ms Horodny.

MR SPEAKER: I have received a letter from Ms Reilly proposing that a matter of public importance be submitted to the Assembly for discussion, namely:

The importance of maintaining services and funding for all older people in the ACT community.

MS REILLY (4.23): Mr Speaker, I thought it important that we discuss services and funding for older people today because today is the national day of action for older Australians. People have come from all over Australia to go to the Federal Parliament to talk about funding. I think it is important that we recognise and acknowledge the important role played by older Australians and the contribution that they make to our community.

We need to go beyond the platitudes about respecting older people in our community and make sure that our words are matched by actions. Older people are more than a statistic to be used to indicate how many there are and how old they are, and they are more than just a photo opportunity as often happens in Seniors Week, which is next week in the ACT. Older people are not all just sick and frail and using lots of our money, which seems to be the attitude at times, and they do not always need our sympathy,

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