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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 14 Hansard (10 December) . . Page.. 4839 ..

MS REILLY: My question is to the Chief Minister as Minister for Community Care. Prior to young people with disabilities leaving nursing homes and entering houses under Canberra's Own Option of Living project, known as the COOOL houses, they were given an undertaking by your department that they would know the number of their support hours, have control over how they would be delivered and be able to bank hours in much the same way as the individual support packages work, as this would lead to more spontaneity and control over their own lives. Would the Minister explain why, despite numerous meetings with ACT Health, a letter signed on behalf of all residents and a consultancy to resolve the issue, these people do not have an answer? When will these young people with disabilities be given the decency of a clear answer to their requests?

MRS CARNELL: I must admit that I am not aware that any of the people in the COOOL houses have significant problems at this time. Certainly, some time has been spent on sorting out the actual details of how we organise these particular houses, but the response I have had from the people in the COOOL houses is that they really love them and that they think they are a great improvement.

Ms McRae: That was not the question.

MRS CARNELL: It is. Ms Reilly indicated that the people in our COOOL houses were somehow unhappy with them. My understanding is that that is simply not the case. My understanding is that people in our COOOL houses are very pleased to be in independent living style of accommodation. This has been quite complex, as you can imagine, because we have been moving people from nursing homes, which of course are funded by the Commonwealth Government, into a scenario where we are funding the people involved.

Mr Speaker, I am very happy to find out for Ms Reilly whether any dates have been set for the finalisation of these discussions, but I think the bottom line is that the people involved are in a significantly better scenario now than they were when they were in nursing homes. My understanding is that the people who have moved in are very happy with the accommodation that they have and that the second lot of COOOL houses are progressing very well. I am very happy to find out what the timeframes are.

MS REILLY: I ask a supplementary question, Mr Speaker. As support hours are fundamental to individuals' control of their own lives, will you ensure that people will be able to bank their support hours, have access to their balance of hours and have access to them on demand, considering the fact that people have been living in the Macquarie houses since July and they still do not have any resolution to this important issue?

MRS CARNELL: Mr Speaker, I still think what Marion Reilly is saying here is that people are somehow unhappy. Mr Speaker, I understand that the people who moved into the COOOL houses did so because they chose to do so, because they believed that it would lead - and I believe it has led - to a significantly better scenario for them.

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