Page 1757 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 4 June 2014
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into the trial phase of the NDIS, the phasing agreement which we are waiting for, and also the price that service providers will be paid. However, the issue we are talking about here today is the role of government service provision and, for that, there are still many unanswered questions.
We are now at crunch point. There are 26 days until the trial starts and it is lucky that the ACT Labor government have a federal Liberal government to lay the blame on. It seems that, for everything that is wrong with the world, the minister—as occurred again on Monday at the meeting—squarely lays the blame at the feet of the federal government, saying that decisions that have not been resolved have become the federal government’s problem. This minister is always playing politics and losing sight of the people she represents—the people who ultimately bear the brunt of these decisions and this poor process.
Whilst it is not my intent to play politics on the issue, I will do everything in my power to ensure a good outcome for families in desperate need of reassurance. I would ask the minister and her colleagues, as well as Mr Rattenbury, to do the same today.
I have made no secret of my support for models such as the AEIOU model of early intervention for autism—support that I know is shared by members of Mr Rattenbury’s office, if not by Mr Rattenbury himself. My colleague Steve Doszpot and I went to Queensland to see the results for ourselves. What we saw was impressive and the results speak for themselves. Just yesterday, I spoke with the director of AEIOU in Queensland to ensure that a conversation was being held with them about service provision in the ACT. What he told me was astounding. It seems that he was only contacted in the previous couple of days, when he received a call from KPMG asking for a meeting about the provision of services. AEIOU have been trying in good faith to engage in and orchestrate a facility for children with autism here in the ACT, but the government has made the proposition of starting up any kind of facility or service in Canberra near impossible for this organisation.
In stark contrast, AEIOU have begun their negotiations locally with the Queensland government in preparation for their NDIS rollout in 2016. This preparation and planning will ensure that Queensland are in better shape for their transition than the territory, with the time they have on their side. This is not happening here, and the blame can be laid squarely at the feet of this government and this minister.
Another provider of autism intervention services, Aspire Early Intervention—again, specialists in service provision for children with autism—has not been contacted by anyone in the government prior to a meeting this week. I understand the minister has had some further discussions, but the fact that there were no assurances regarding the correspondence highlights that there are some significant failings in this process.
We have an obligation to these families. At this time I ask all of my Assembly colleagues to put aside politics and think of the kids that are so desperately in need of these services. (Time expired.)
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