Page 1249 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 7 May 2014
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It appears we are all in furious agreement on this as best I read it, but there is an obstacle in the way. I hope today’s debate puts the focus back there and perhaps serves as an encouragement to the federal government to respond quickly. I support Ms Burch’s amendments today. I think they serve to add to Mr Wall’s motion constructively, adding further detail without changing the commitments Mr Wall has sought for the information to be made public as soon as possible.
In addition, they add a commitment to report back to the Assembly with updates on the implementation of the NDIS. I am certainly happy for Minister Burch to come in here as often as she feels she needs to or can to give those updates. We are at a place in this cycle where it is the more the merrier, and I am sure all members take a keen interest in this.
I thank Mr Wall again for bringing this issue into focus today. I look forward to us all being better informed as the NDIS rollout occurs in the ACT. It is an exciting phase. As the minister said in her remarks, it is a phase that will be nerve-racking for clients, for staff, for families, for carers. There is some uncertainty, but I think we are heading in a direction where all those groups will be better off. This system is the right direction to go, and the challenge for all of us is to do what we can to make the changeover as smooth as possible.
Amendments agreed to.
MR WALL (Brindabella) (6.26): I think we are all in agreement that more information needs to be provided. Until such time as the process by which services are to be phased out of government control and into the non-government sector is known, there will continue to be a cloud of uncertainty and doubt by all those who work in and rely on the services provided by the system.
The opportunity the government has to get the information out early will only strengthen the implementation of the NDIS in the ACT. It will ensure the private sector service providers, or non-government service providers, have an opportunity to prepare for the services they offer so they can best meet the demand for therapy services in the ACT. Private practitioners currently in operation in the ACT will also have a better understanding of how their services and their expertise will fit into the new system.
We have attempted today to uncover what is happening, but it seems that the minister and the directorate are not yet ready to announce their plan for how therapy services will be phased out. As many in this place are aware, the closure of therapy services was a decision taken by the government in their capacity as a service provider to get out of the space as the NDIS comes in. Clearly, the phase-in arrangement for the NDIS will not affect whether or not the government are a service provider, but they have taken the decision to no longer provide services in this space. It is incumbent upon them now to articulate how they choose for that to happen. We will support the motion as amended, and we await the detail with bated breath.
Motion, as amended, agreed to.
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