Page 501 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 23 February 2010
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Medicines, Poisons and Therapeutic Goods Amendment Regulation 2010 (No 2)—Subordinate Law SL2010-2 (LR, 21 January 2010).
Prohibited Weapons Act—Prohibited Weapons Amendment Regulation 2009 (No 1)—Subordinate Law SL2009-60 (LR, 23 December 2009).
Racing Act—Racing (Race Field Information) Regulation 2010—Subordinate Law SL2010-3 (LR, 25 January 2010).
Road Transport (General) Act—Road Transport (General) (Vehicle Registration) Exemption 2010 (No 1)—Disallowable Instrument DI2010-9 (LR, 1 February 2010).
Territory-owned Corporations Act—Territory-owned Corporations Amendment Regulation 2009 (No 1)—Subordinate Law SL2009-53 (LR, 10 December 2009).
Carers
Discussion of matter of public importance
MADAM ASSISTANT SPEAKER: (Mrs Dunne): Mr Speaker has received letters from Ms Bresnan, Mr Coe, Mr Doszpot, Mrs Dunne, Mr Hanson, Mr Hargreaves, Ms Hunter, Ms Le Couteur, Ms Porter, Mr Seselja and Mr Smyth proposing that matters of public importance be submitted to the Assembly. In accordance with standing order 79, Mr Speaker has determined that the matter proposed by Ms Porter be submitted to the Assembly, namely:
The importance of carers in the ACT community.
MS PORTER (Ginninderra) (3.16): Madam Assistant Speaker, I would like to begin by acknowledging the vital role carers play in our community. Many people are involved in caring, as you know—young carers, kinship and foster carers, people caring for those with disability and the aged and those caring for people with a chronic health condition. Care occurs across the generations, with some in our community caring for both parents and grandchildren.
Carers contribute strongly to the social wellbeing of our community. The informal and unpaid care they provide is a foundation of community care in the ACT. As we know, the caring role covers a multitude of tasks, from health care, housework, meal preparation, mobility, paperwork, property maintenance, self-care and transport, as well as emotional support for the person they are caring for and other members of the family, such as siblings.
Caring is an activity that incurs financial, physical, mental health and emotional costs, as well as opportunity costs with disruption to education, training, employment, income earning and participation in social and friendship networks. At any time in our lives, we may find ourselves fulfilling this role as carer for a member of our family. I have found myself in that role with a son who had a disability at one stage in my life.
I am proud to be able to say the ACT government has provided a 61 per cent increase in funding across a range of disability services and support since 2002. This investment equates to a growth of 31 per cent in accommodation support, 55 per cent
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