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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2001 Week 8 Hansard (8 August) . . Page.. 2579 ..

MR STEFANIAK: On some of those details, I would have to take the question on notice. The advice I have in relation to this matter is that it is something that the department has to do. I understand that there are strict protocols with regard to that. If there is any indication that the department might be doing something wrong, I will be happy to check it out and get back to you, Mr Berry, but the information I have to date does not suggest that that is the case. If there is anything further, I will get back to you, Mr Berry.

Disability services

MR WOOD: Mr Speaker, my question is to Mr Moore, minister for health and community services. I will read a very short extract from Mr Gallop's report released yesterday:

Despite the obvious failings of-

I won't mention the names of two group house workers-

neither has been given any training subsequent to Brett's death with a view to upgrading their skills to care for the disabled according to their own evidence.

Mr Moore, I have heard you in the media saying you have been attending to the issues over the last year. Certainly I would have expected that to be the case. For example, you have said that people have been getting better training. I have also seen your overdue media statement issued yesterday, I think, claiming that much had changed, as we would have expected.

In view of Mr Gallop's comment, how much confidence can we have that things are really changing?

MR MOORE: Of course it is always useful to choose a particular quote from a particular report. Mr Speaker, I think it is also very important to understand that there is a significant discrepancy between the report of the coroner tabled last week and the interim report of Justice Gallop. For example, Mr Speaker, whilst we have to acknowledge the death-and I think all of us acknowledge that something went wrong in that house that day; and all of us extend our sympathy to the Ponting family-it is important to note that the coroner found that "the one failure which I have criticised does not, in my view, reflect other than an isolated situation which existed in the premises".

Mr Speaker, that having been said, I think it is important to understand what has happened in the interim. It is also important to remember that the interim report of Justice Gallop came down some time ago. It referred to incidents even before that.

The disability program has already introduced individual risk assessments for every client, Mr Speaker. They have a review of individual plans to improve the individual planning system and management structures to ensure training support and supervision are in place. Disability program has commenced development of training curriculum for support managers and team leaders to ensure that both levels of front-line management have the required skills and capacity to adequately support and supervise staff. The

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