Page 3430 - Week 08 - Thursday, 23 August 2012
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not been agreed to. The government, as previously, has referred to having it co-located with acute services if escalation is required. We need to have a look at the fact that models for stand-alone centres have worked elsewhere. They are extremely successful. We need to start looking at the evidence of that rather than the needs called for by other certain health professionals.
On drugs and alcohol, the decision by the federal government to cut local drug and alcohol funding by $1.2 million around the same time as the budget was delivered was a major concern. At risk was the $500,000 provided to Karralika for its component of the Solaris Therapeutic Community at the AMC, along with other services. Fortunately, this decision was reversed, thanks largely to the lobbying of local drug and alcohol groups. We are still waiting on confirmation as to whether other funds have been lost. I do hope this is something the ACT government may be able to confirm at some point. The response to the recommendation on this in estimates is that the matter should be referred to the commonwealth; however, I would hope that through the minister, through meetings and contacts with federal counterparts, this would be clarified so that groups in the ACT have some certainty.
Over the years there have been delays in the growth funds for the home and community care program being provided to HACC-funded organisations in the ACT. There have been counterclaims of blame from both the ACT and the federal governments, which do nothing to assist the organisations who provide these services. With the new arrangements for HACC funding between the federal and state and territory governments, I hope that we do not see a repeat of these delays in growth funds to add to what will already be a complicated process. The recommendation on this in estimates to establish more timely administration processes has been agreed to, and the government has stated that it will continue to refine these processes, which is good news.
I also hope that we will see a resolution, finally, on transport issues for the aged-care and rehabilitation hub at Village Creek. This has been an issue for around two years. While I recognise that there are physical impediments to buses in the area, this is something which needs a practical resolution for people who access this service and rely on public transport. I note that this is also a recommendation of estimates which has been agreed to.
The Greens were very pleased to see $50,000 per annum for A Gender Agenda. While this is a small amount, it is timely recognition of the important role this group plays in the community.
I also note the recommendation of establishing a needle and syringe program at the AMC and that the government has announced an NSP with a one-for-one exchange with the doctor at the AMC. This is something the Greens have advocated for for a number of years. I released a paper on this in 2010. I again go to the fact that all the evidence from overseas, with the experience of prison-based NSPs, shows that there have been no incidents of needle-stick injuries or needles being used as weapons, and no increase in drug use. In fact, it has led to an increase in the uptake of drug treatment programs, because it brings this issue out into the open and can be
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