Page 1921 - Week 05 - Thursday, 6 May 2010
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It was interesting that Mr Hanson made the comment that, when going back to his notes on what he said last year, he found that he had to say the same things again—the challenges were still there. If the ministers who attended the ACTCOSS forum yesterday had been courteous enough to turn up and listen to what ACTCOSS had to say about the budget, rather than just fly in and give their piece and leave, they would have heard that every one of the speakers from ACTCOSS had basically the same thing to say. They had looked at what they said last year and they felt that that would be the same analysis for this year because nothing had changed for the community sector.
The ministers were late and they were discourteous to the community sector. Therefore, they did not hear what ACTCOSS had to say about the problems in the budget. It was interesting to listen to what ACTCOSS had to say about the budget and to hear the message, yet again, that there is nothing left to give in the community sector budget, yet they are always asked to give more. We have to ask where the expenditure is going.
I looked at some people in the community sector and how they are doing. I looked, for example, at the plight of grandparents and other carers who look after the children of their children or other relatives. This is not a foster care situation that we are talking about. In saying that, I do not in any way downplay the critical importance of foster care in our community. The difficulties those incredibly generous foster parents face in taking on the care of other children can never be underestimated.
But the people who look after their grandchildren and others who look after their nephews and nieces, or their brothers and sisters—people who look after their kin—face special challenges. They face special challenges because the parties are related. They face special challenges because the care arrangements are often permanent. They face special challenges because this ACT Labor government has been slow to recognise those challenges.
Just one challenge, for example, is a grandparent who might be 65 or 70 who takes on the care of a grandchild at risk who might only be five or six years old. Imagine the plight of that 65 or 70-year-old thinking that their job as a parent should be over by now but facing the reality that, once again, it is just beginning. Imagine that 65 or 70-year-old grandparent taking on a grandchild aged five or six and facing the prospect that the child will still be in their care when they are 80 or more. What has this government done to help these people? This government so far has done nothing, except be long on rhetoric.
In the lead-up to the 2008 election, ACT Labor promised $800,000 to—and I quote from their policy document—“create a dedicated service run by a non‐government organisation to provide information, advice and support to grandparents and kinship carers who are caring for children”. Almost two years of the term of that government has gone and the emptiness of that promise is evident. There has been no money, no dedicated service and no information. I am sure the minister is upstairs squirming and would want to come down here and say that the moneys have been provided in the budget and they have called a tender. But it is almost two years since that
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