Page 2106 - Week 07 - Thursday, 16 May 2013
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Madam Speaker, when the Official Visitor Act was passed, you expressed the expectation that there would be conversations with the community about how the scheme should operate, that the bill would be “tweaked to be really effective”. This is what the government has done.
The government has undertaken extensive consultation with members of the community to ensure the scheme will offer the most effective protections for vulnerable people. Put simply, the Official Visitor Amendment Bill clearly defines where official visitors will go and what they will do. It makes technical changes to the act to ensure each scheme reflects strong and consistent core standards but also provides for necessary operational variation.
In presenting this bill, I would like to acknowledge the efforts of my officers to reflect the views and concerns of stakeholders. The bill represents collaboration across the government and with the community to achieve a delicate and difficult balance, for example, the balance between providing broad access to vulnerable people and maintaining appropriate privacy protections for entitled people and their families and the balance between attempting to capture every facility that might possibly be relevant and identifying target areas that may be serviced now.
I would like to place on the record my particular thanks to the following community organisations for their willingness to share their experience and insights in the development of the bill: Women with Disabilities ACT, the ACT Disability, Aged and Carer Advocacy Service, Carers ACT, Mental Health Community Coalition, Mental Health Consumer Network and Advocacy for Inclusion. My thanks also go to the Children and Young People Official Visitor, Ms Hargreaves, ACT Corrective Services official visitors, Ms Whetnall and Mr Potas, and Mental Health Official Visitor, Ms Burton, for their advice on the operation of the current official visitor schemes and the functions of official visitors. It is also important to acknowledge the assistance of the Public Advocate, the Public Trustee and the Human Rights Commission.
As I have said, the bill reflects close collaboration between the Justice and Community Safety Directorate and the Community Services Directorate, Mental Health ACT and Chief Minister and Treasury Directorate to identify and resolve issues to ensure the new scheme meets the needs of its clients.
Official visitors are important safeguards against harm and abuse in environments where we find our most vulnerable. Their work is a manifestation of the human rights principles on which our society is based. Official visitors operate by visiting entitled people, assisting them in various ways and reporting to operational ministers and other public authorities. In these ways they improve transparency and accountability in their environments and act as safeguards against systemic dysfunction.
Official visitors are not advocates. They make no arguments or public recommendations. Nor are they are guardians. They are not legally entrusted with the care of another person or property. Their role is not the same as a human rights commissioner or a public advocate.
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