Page 3191 - Week 07 - Thursday, 1 July 2010
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The estimates committee recommended that the government expand the availability of post-school options and pathways for people with a disability, including working with vocationally oriented organisations. The government noted the recommendations and said that people with a disability who are finishing school will need to link to generic services in the community.
The government also said that Disability ACT was working with Merici college to develop a program to train students from Black Mountain school in vocational employment activities. We hope that development is successful, because, until this problem is fixed, many young people will not have adequate or any post-school options. This has significant impacts on students and their carers and families in terms of social exclusion and also on their finances.
The committee’s recommendation was about having a coordinated effort with all sectors. As I have noted, it is an issue which has been raised by a number of parents, including through the inquiry of the Standing Committee on Education, Training and Youth Affairs into disability education, and by Professor Tony Shaddock. Therefore, I hope the government will do more than note this recommendation.
The other estimates committee recommendation on disability was that a formula for growth funding be developed for disability services as per health funding and that this formula be applied to the 2011-12 budget process. The ACT government has said that it is waiting for commonwealth work, which is often used as a reason by the government. The Greens, like the ACT government, are hoping that the proposal for a national disability insurance scheme will be successful. But until such time as a scheme is up and running, which may be quite some time away, the ACT government has a responsibility to improve and reform funding to disability services.
The ACT government has also said in its response to the committee recommendation about growth funds that funding allocations for disability services will need to be considered in the context of competing priorities across the spectrum of other government services. I understand that there are competing interests and that each sector is in need of more funding. However, we need to address the growing demands on the disability sector, in particular, the impact on non-government service providers and the carers who care for people with a disability.
Disability does not typically attract the political or media attention that other areas do, which makes the sector’s voice harder to hear. Both the inquiry of the Standing Committee on Health, Community and Social Services into respite care and the education committee’s inquiry into the needs of students with a disability have highlighted the gaps in required services, and they are hardest felt by consumers and their families or carers. The many submissions from parents provided an example of the great hardships that people endure and demonstrated that we have to improve the system for people with a disability. This includes looking at how we define “disability” and the way programs are funded.
I would now like to move on to multicultural affairs. I am pleased that, after a lengthy consultation process and community submissions, the final version of the multicultural strategy is now more reflective of community needs. I note that the
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