Page 1072 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 30 March 2011
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The minister has said, “We have the highest lift fees in the country,” which is something I was very much aware of. But again, this goes to the fact that this has not had an impact. We have got the highest lift fees in the country. It has not had an impact on the level of service given to people in the disability community. Presumably that is why other jurisdictions like Adelaide, like Geelong, have tried to do something different and in fact have been shown to have some of the best WAT services in the country, because they have tried something different. That is what we are actually suggesting here.
I do appreciate that the government has tried different strategies. But again, these have not worked, and we need to acknowledge that they have not worked. And the taxi review itself actually says that, which I think is why disability groups were very disappointed that it came out with basically more of the same.
As Mr Stanhope outlined again, along with the central booking system, there will be more subsidies and fees. So we are going to be putting in place more subsidies and more fees. Again I ask the question: how long are we going to keep doing the same thing, and spending a lot of funds along the way, before we actually move to trying a new service, which is what the disability sector is calling for?
The Chief Minister said that I referred to some vehicles as unsafe. In fact, it is the disability sector which is saying that these vehicles are unsafe. The anecdote which I referred to, the story of someone having their nose and jaw broken, was from the disability sector. They told us that. And we have heard a number of other stories where people have felt unsafe because the vehicles are not accommodating the right wheelchair. As I said, I was merely quoting these groups when I outlined that story.
I was also surprised to hear the Chief Minister say that we ignored the commitment of WAT operators when I actually acknowledged that there are many good drivers out there who are very dedicated. I also outlined the CTIA’s submission and how difficult it is for drivers to make a living. I could easily have said that, after this consultation and this expert report and we have gone through this process, the government has come up with a solution that has been trialled and failed before, something I have already pointed out.
Mr Stanhope also said I was saying that I think what has been put forward is a bad idea. That is not what we are saying. Again, I say this is the disability sector and people who use WATs coming out and saying this. We have had so many stories come to us about this, saying that we have not moved forward, we are spending more money on something that has not worked before, and people with a disability are getting increasingly frustrated that they have to now wait at least two more years before they get a definitive solution to address the problems with the WAT service. So they have got to wait more time. When we get to two years time, then we might try something different. Instead, we are going to keep going with what we have tried before and has failed.
That is why they are getting frustrated. That is why we are getting frustrated and we are getting frustrated on their behalf. That is why we put forward this motion.
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