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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2001 Week 9 Hansard (23 August) . . Page.. 3263 ..

MR STEFANIAK (continuing):

The new scheme works at various levels. The regulations that establish the framework set up a victims assistance board and the victims services scheme. According to a victim's needs, which are assessed, at level one all eligible victims are entitled to two contact hours of service. At level two, in addition to what they are entitled to under level one, they get up to six contact hours. At level three, eligible victims can receive up to 12 contact hours, on top of their levels one and two entitlements.

The professional services available to victims include counselling, rehabilitation, massage therapy, or any other health-based service that will assist the victim to recover from the harm suffered as a result of a criminal act committed in the ACT.

We have had an interim scheme in place for the first 12 months. Over 110 victims used the scheme in that period. The victims services scheme started on 1 January this year and, in the six-month period to the end of June, in excess of 150 victims accessed the scheme. The range of services accessed included those provided by psychologists, counsellors, social workers, massage therapists and physiotherapists, and in total more than 1,000 hours of services were provided.

Mr Hird asks what the alternative might be. Now that the Labor Party has actually started to release some of its policies-though there is not a huge amount in them-we can see where they propose to go.

Mr Berry: There is $27 million more in ours than in yours, Bill.

MR STEFANIAK: Do your figures, Wayne: Berrynomics at its worst. The Labor Party has decided that it likes the rehabilitative aspects of our policies. That is great. There is nothing new in that. Those opposite are making a habit of saying that they will keep elements of government policy and that is great. It just means that it is good policy.

However, then they are going to get their grubby little hands into taxpayers' pockets and give out some more money. Who is going to benefit? I wonder if that is really going to benefit victims. It will certainly benefit the lawyers, but I really wonder if that is actually going to benefit victims. Labor has promised to keep our policy in government, but also to restore the old cash compensation scheme as well. Our scheme currently costs about $2.1 million annually and, of that, $870,000 is cash payouts. Mr Stanhope's scheme, the Labor Party's scheme, would probably have a price tag of around $9 million per annum.

Mr Stanhope: Oh, Bill! Read that again, mate.

MR STEFANIAK: I will read that again. That is $6.5 million plus the $2.1 million. That gives about $8.6 million. It keeps going each year and I think that figure is reasonable. Will the principal beneficiaries be victims? I do not think so. I think the lawyers will benefit, but I wonder if victims really will.

I will not even bother asking the obvious question about where the money is coming from. However, the Labor Party policies are starting to rack up a very considerable bill and there is not all that much fat in our budget or in the outyears. One really could ask where the money is coming from for this policy. Where is the money coming from for other policies?

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