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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 8 Hansard (31 August) . . Page.. 2715 ..

MS TUCKER (11.14): I will be brief in speaking to this motion. I have explained to Mr Rugendyke and others the reason that I am concerned about the health committee looking at this matter. In February 1997, as Chair of the Social Policy Committee, I tabled the report of the committee's inquiry into the Commonwealth/territory disability agreement. In the course of that committee inquiry we were contacted by a number of people with serious allegations around incidents in the service.

It became quite clear that an Assembly committee was not able to deal with those sorts of issues at that time; so we referred them to the health complaints commissioner, who produced two reports. One report looked at general issues, systemic issues, which was something that we addressed to some degree in our inquiry. The health complaints commissioner also made a confidential report on the individual allegations of abuse and so on.

My fundamental concern is that we had this process and we got a response from government at the time-I have heard Mr Szwarcbord say since, "Yes, the service was a basket case at that time, but we have worked on it and we have gone through these reforms and it is now okay"-but the evidence that has come to me and other members of this place consistently is that it is not okay, that people who need to be supported are not being supported to such a degree and that we have actually had deaths and other serious incidents, more than have come out publicly, in the last month.

For that reason, as members of parliament, I think that we need to be outraged and we need to say quite clearly, "Yes, we all agree that people who have a disability are very vulnerable members of our community and a responsible government would ensure that those people are adequately supported." That has not been the case for the time that I have been in this Assembly-in fact, since 1995-and I have had a chance to look at the issues.

I understand that Mr Moore is concerned. Mr Moore says that he also wants to see an improvement in this service area-I am sure he does-and that he would like to see it happen through the health committee because he is concerned about the expense. My response to that is: we have seen this parliament willing to put money into an independent commission of inquiry on issues of planning and land management and on issues related to ACTTAB. What does it say to our community if we indicate that we are not prepared to spend that sort of money on an issue involving looking at support for people with a disability? I do not agree with that position at all. This government is also prepared to spend millions of dollars on a V8 car race and other such events as well as Bruce Stadium.

It is a statement of value that we are making as a parliament if we say that we believe that this issue needs a proper independent inquiry. Why does it need a proper independent inquiry? For the reasons I have outlined. There is also the issue of the perception throughout the community of carers and parents and of people with a disability themselves that they are not free to complain. Whether that is a perception or the reality is not the point. The point is that it is felt.

Another reason that I believe an independent commission of inquiry would be more preferable is that there can be a guarantee of confidentiality which cannot be given for an Assembly committee. It removes the politics totally from the process. Removing the

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