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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 2 Hansard (29 February) . . Page.. 368 ..

MR HARGREAVES (continuing):

sporting organisations that do have to pay the GST and cannot do so, does the Treasurer agree that the Government's apparent ad hoc application of the Howard-Costello GST indicates that once again it is discriminating against the powerless in our community?

MR HUMPHRIES: I think I have answered that question already. I take it on notice.

MR WOOD: Mr Speaker, my question is to Mr Moore. Minister, you would be only too well aware of claims by the Alzheimer's Association of the ACT for funds to carry out their work. We all know they have been campaigning very strongly, and I think validly, for such help. Minister, the association runs a wide variety of high-quality and well-supported programs without the support, certainly to my knowledge, of the ACT Government. There is currently one joint program with another ACT body which is funded by the Federal Government, and I believe that ACTTAB a little time ago provided a start-up grant for one program. If there is more, I am sure you will tell me. Certainly the vast amount of work and the programs are funded and operated voluntarily. This entails a major effort by competent and dedicated people. Minister, the programs are much needed and demand is growing. The association is stretched to provide the resources to continue its important work. Bearing in mind the support for similar bodies in the ACT, will you allow the work to continue by allocating necessary funds?

MR MOORE: Mr Speaker, I think Mr Wood knows that we are interested in ensuring that our limited finances have the best possible effect by going to service delivery. It is not a case of us funding a wide range of organisations that are made up of volunteers. Those organisations are worth while and good. There is a very wide range of them. They are full of volunteers who do fantastic work, and they can continue that work should they so wish. The Government measures needs. It then funds those needs and the best people to deliver the services to meet those needs.

The proposal that came to me personally from the Alzheimer's Association in the original instance, although I understand they did modify it, was for something in the order of $200,000, of which $18,000 was for service delivery. Mr Wood, I will not support such an application, and I would hope you would not. Secondly, I will not support an application for funding on the basis that somebody has run a good campaign, that they have managed to embarrass me in the media or in some other way or that they have some important person as a patron and therefore believe I should fund them. We will do it on the basis that the funding goes where it is most needed.

The ACT and Commonwealth governments provide a wide range of services to people with dementia and their carers, including centre-based respite care, residential support, and home and community care programs. The Department of Health and Community Care alone provides funding to Red Cross, ACT Community Care and a wide range of other agencies already providing services for people with dementia. For example, ACT Community Care provides important extended respite care services for young men with dementia.

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