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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 5 Hansard (11 May) . . Page.. 1446 ..
Ms Carnell: We have a few other ideas.
MR WOOD: I like inquiries. I like the committee system and I enjoy the work, but, just for a little while, please do not come up with anything until we can get these three out of the way.
I agree with Ms Tucker's amendment. It is fine. There are probably all sorts of other things that could be put in the terms of reference, but I generally take the view that when you are running an inquiry you do what you think you have to do with what the evidence brings to you and expand it as you see fit. I never feel that I am constrained or limited by terms of reference.
Mr Rugendyke has given a good account of the need for attention to the issue of protection of the aged, and I look forward to our scrutiny of this quite important issue.
MR MOORE (Minister for Health and Community Care) (12.08): I rise on behalf of the government to support Mr Rugendyke's reference to the committee. It is an entirely appropriate reference. I take Mr Wood's point about the work of the committee and how it is going. If he likes to put less effort and scrutiny into the Estimates Committee, I would also be quite comfortable with that, but I presume he will continue the same process that he has used before.
Seriously, Mr Speaker, I do recognise that the committee is dealing with a number of complex issues and it is an entirely appropriate use of committee time. This is a complex issue and my department will be happy to assist with a submission to the your committee and to assist in any other way that we can.
I recently met with the members of Elder Abuse Coalition, as I understand other members have, and there are recognised concerns that at present there is a significant level of under-reporting of elder abuse, and we have some difficulty in understanding it. At this meeting I agreed to refer the issue to the Aged Health Care Services Advisory Council for their advice. I have had a letter faxed through from the chair of that committee who says, amongst other things:
... we wish to express our support for the inquiry into Elder Abuse proposed by Independent Dave Rugendyke. The information available to the Council from the coalition of community groups currently lobbying for an inquiry shows that physical, emotional and financial abuse of elderly persons is an increasing problem as the ACT population is ageing more rapidly than anywhere else in Australia.
It is to be hoped that an inquiry will focus not only on the needs and the appropriate care of the abused, but also on the importance of re-educating the community and in particular the carers involved with aged persons.
I think there is some salient advice there from the chair of that committee, Ms Julia Biles, to start the committee off.
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