Page 3077 - Week 08 - Thursday, 25 June 2009
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$800,000 over one financial year, with absolutely no funding allocated in the outyears. Another way of looking at it is that they would have only given $200,000 a year over four years—perhaps enough to remove one person from hospital, but not enough for anyone else.
This is probably fitting, as the Liberals, particularly Mr Doszpot, are very good at championing the cause of one individual through the papers and in this chamber, above the needs and requirements of others. My sympathy is with all the people currently residing in hospital. And I will do all I can to provide supported accommodation for them in the community. It is important that each of the individuals is treated equally and fairly and, as such, the advisory panel which has been set up will provide a guide on how best we can support people with disabilities transitioning out of hospital.
We allocated $400,000 over four years to introduce the companion card program. This program will be part of the national companion card scheme and cardholders will be able to use their card at over 1,800 businesses across Australia that currently accept the card.
The budget also allocated $200,000 annually to the flexible support fund. A component of the flexible support fund is the quality of life grants funded through Disability ACT. These grants enable small, person-centred initiatives to promote independence. We called for applications for the quality of life grants on 6 June 2009, with a closing date of 10 July 2009. As previously reported to the Assembly, the government successfully negotiated with the Australian government for a further $15.23 million over five years under the new national disability agreement.
As members are aware, I announced today we are developing a strategic plan for positive ageing. Where is the Liberals’ vision in this area? It is nowhere to be seen. The 2009-10 budget, not surprisingly, strongly supports positive ageing. The seniors grants program has been increased from $85,000 to $100,000 per annum. The grants provide funding assistance to individuals and groups to develop activities that promote active lifestyles and reduce the social isolation of older people in the ACT.
We are able to honour our commitment to establish a permanent seniors club in the Tuggeranong area. The allocation of $1.5 million is for the refurbishment or construction of that facility. This follows the $200,000 committed in the 2008-09 second appropriation for the feasibility study to look at a most suitable location.
Finally, I would like to refer to our multicultural community and the $200,000 budgeted for the migrant and refugee settlement services. It is initiatives like this that will assist MARSS to meet the needs of refugees and other migrants who choose to settle in Canberra. Incidentally, we took up the slack that the federal government created for us. We have been doing things and this mob have not.
MR BARR (Molonglo—Minister for Education and Training, Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation and Minister for Industrial Relations) (9.43): The budget priorities for children and young people are a statement of this government’s commitment for the next generation. It is about pressing ahead with early
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