Page 2073 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 6 August 2014
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and the ACT Medical Local to ensure there are no out-of-pocket expenses for affected families accessing psychological and emotional support. This support includes access to the new access program to offer support from trained coaches for those who are experiencing mild anxiety or depression and access to the health in mind program through the family doctor with any gap fee for the GP visit reimbursed to those registered with the task force.
One of the most vital and urgent tasks of the government is to provide access to experts and to provide up-to-date information to support owners and residents of Mr Fluffy homes, as Mr Hanson outlined. This communication has included hosting two community forums, most recently this past Sunday at Hawker College. A previous forum was held on the south side, at Namadgi School, on 17 July 2014.
These forums jointly held by the task force and ACT Health provide an opportunity for the community to discuss health issues relating to asbestos. The community has had an opportunity to ask questions and to discuss specific health-related concerns associated with asbestos exposure with panel members, including; Dr Peggy Brown, Director-General of ACT Health; Dr Andrew Pengilley, Acting Chief Health Officer; Dr Mark Hurwitz, respiratory physician; Dr Jeffrey Fletcher, Clinical Director of Paediatrics at the Canberra Hospital; and Mr Andrew Kefford, head of the ACT asbestos response task force. Approximately 250 people attended each forum, and it is pleasing that these people were able to get along. Of course the government is continuing to provide information and will welcome inquiries.
More than 1,700 people are now registered with the task force, and are receiving the weekly newsletter updates with key information. The task force regularly update their webpage and Twitter account and actively engage with the media.
This does not replace the one-to-one support that the task force is providing to those in our community greatly impacted by these issues, because nothing replaces that one-to-one communication that we know is very important, especially in times like this. This includes close to 30 families who have left their homes, often with little more than the clothes on their back, as Mr Hanson said.
It is also important to acknowledge that there has been and I believe will continue to be a bipartisan approach to addressing and resolving the issues confronting our community through the presence of Mr Fluffy homes. Mr Hanson outlined in his speech his desire that this continues to be a bipartisan approach and his support of the government in the way it is handling this matter. The bipartisanship, I am pleased to observe, not only extends to those in this Assembly but also to our federal members. Faced with such a confronting issue, it is clear we are all prepared to work together.
Finally, I would like to add my support for the work of the Chief Minister as she pursues the commonwealth government in obtaining support from them and an agreement with them about the long-term and collaborative solution to this issue, which all of us in this place agree is extremely important. I commend my amendment to the Assembly.
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