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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 14 Hansard (9 December) . . Page.. 4710 ..

MS REILLY (continuing):

We need to address that as soon as possible, as a matter of urgency, whether Mr Howard comes forward with the money or not. We cannot leave young people who wish to change their lifestyle alone without support. We cannot leave young people who need support for other forms of abuse alone without support services. That is what we are doing now. We throw up our hands in horror and talk about supposed crime waves, but we do not give young people the opportunity to address their problems.

This report is comprehensive. It has 39 recommendations. We need to address these, because we cannot leave our young people and children without assistance. We should not dismiss this report as other reports have been dismissed. We cannot continue to alienate young people in our community. If we do not act, these problems will grow and be with us for years to come. This Assembly would be abrogating its responsibilities if it did not address them now.

In conclusion, I would like to thank Kerrie Tucker for her excellent chairing and leading of this committee in the time that I have been on it. I thank Louise Littlewood and, before her, Harold Hird for their contribution and the experience that they have brought to the committee. I particularly thank Judith Henderson - the secretary of the committee - and Fiona Clapin for their excellent work. They had to work many long hours to finalise the report and they should be commended for turning out reports in the way they do. It is important that this report be acted upon; that we do not ignore the evidence that came before the committee in relation to services for young people and children. We must address the issues and work towards a better future.

MRS LITTLEWOOD (11.43): The Social Policy Committee has really been an experience. Mr Speaker, this is a terribly important report and the matters raised are of great note. My colleagues do not seem to accept where I was coming from. I believe that, when you are making recommendations following an inquiry which is as important as this and has such an impact on society as this, you really must have the facts. We have a number of facts and figures but we are still lacking many. Ms Reilly mentioned the lack of data and the lack of facts and figures. I fail to see how you can come up with solutions to problems if you do not have all the facts, if you just make assumptions which could be incorrect. It is not a matter of what may be; we need to know why things occur.

We need to know the root causes of some of the problems. Until we are able to identify the causes and address them, whatever else is done will basically be just a bandaid. The issue and its impact on not only those young people affected but society as a whole are somewhat underrated. We need the facts so that we can put in place the proper models that are required. That is really where I am coming from. I feel that we need to have the facts and figures. That is why I have recommended that the next Assembly look at the impact of illicit drugs. It was quite evident during the inquiry that this was a very large component of some of the problems that we saw. It impacted on criminal areas, mental health and general behavioural problems. It is a large area we need to look at fairly quickly.

Ms Tucker said that I was having a go at the unions. No, I was not having a go at the unions, I am afraid. I was having a go at the committee. I do not care what one says with regard to the evidence, but I think the committee leaves itself wide open unless it can prove what it says. In a number of cases we have not done that. That is where I am

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