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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 4 Hansard (11 April) . . Page.. 981 ..

MS DUNDAS (11.10): I gave a speech on Tuesday detailing my concerns with the budget inquiry process that Ms MacDonald has briefly commented on today. Like Ms MacDonald and Mr Pratt, I would now like to draw the attention of the government and the Assembly to a number of key points in this report from the Education Committee.

I believe that students with disabilities should be a main area of concern for this Assembly and this government. Currently, up to 70 children and their parents are suffering from the failure to provide adequate diagnostic services. That should not be news to the government; it is an area that I have already touched upon in this Assembly. Potential reductions in support for some of the children who are most in need also should be of great concern to this Assembly.

As Advocacy Action Incorporated mentioned in their submission, for most students with disabilities the resources appear to barely cover their care needs. The resources certainly are not adequate enough to support meaningful pursuit of education outcomes. I believe that this is an area of great concern and that the government should be prioritising it as part of the budget. In fact, I believe that education is an area that should be a priority for the Assembly and this budget as it plays such an important role in the development of our community.

I commend this report to the Assembly and hope that the government will take note of the key areas that we have raised.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

Suspension of standing orders

Motion (by Ms Tucker ) agreed to, with the concurrence of an absolute majority:

Health-Standing Committee

Report No 1

Debate resumed.

MR SMYTH (11.13): The report of the committee expresses the concerns that other committees have expressed about the lack of time and the lack of guidance from the Treasurer in particular about how this consultation was to be conducted and what would be done about the consultation when it was reported to the Assembly. In paragraph 1.4 the committee recommends that the Treasurer undertake a detailed analysis of the community needs.

We received a number of submissions. We had a number of groups and individuals come and speak to us as a committee. Some key themes did emerge and they are addressed in what we have put into our report. Respite care was something about which there was a cross-sector concern. The effects of things outside of what you would strictly call

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