Page 2368 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 12 August 2014
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they need. There is no doubt that change, particularly change of this magnitude, will never be easy and there will be challenges. But when I go out and talk with people with disability, their families and carers, overwhelmingly I get a sense of hope and excitement of what the NDIA and the NDIS have the potential to bring to our community. And that is what we need to stay focused on, because people with a disability, their families and carers have been waiting far too long for this reform.
The ACT government is committed to the NDIS and will keep working to transform disability services. In total the government will provide just over $96 million in 2014-15 to provide services that strengthen the capacity for people with disability, their families and carers and help them maximise control over their lives. The government is investing approximately $5 million in initiatives to help prepare people for the NDIS. This includes funding over two years to provide emergency responses in disability services for those who may need a greater level of care and a continuation of funding for three years so that the therapy assistants program for children with a disability in schools can be supported.
This funding is in addition to the total contribution from the ACT and commonwealth of $21 million that we are investing to help prepare for the NDIS. This includes the enhanced service offer grants, funding for individual planners and funding to support individuals who are identified as having urgent and unmet needs.
There is serious funding for sector development. $500,000 of sector development funding has been invested to build the capacity of ACT residents through mental health projects, community conversations, family leadership, capacity building and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community capacity building and workshops for people with a disability. We have also invested in support for the sector through initiatives such as the NDIS readiness tool kit delivered by the National Disability Insurance Agency and the governance of financial management and business investment packages. Mr Wall takes the role of opposition very seriously and seems to oppose, and has a negative word to say about, everything.
In terms of those financial management and business investment packages, some of the organisations that have been offered $50,000 grants are the Canberra Men’s Centre, DUO, Northside Community Services, Carers ACT, Richmond Fellowship ACT, Community Connections, ADACAS, Cerebral Palsy Alliance, Koomarri, Autism Asperger ACT, Communities@Work, Pegasus, CatholicCare, Sharing Places, Focus ACT, Southside Community Services, L’Arche Genesaret, Belconnen Community Services, Hartley Lifecare, and Marymead Child and Family Centre. It has always been the commitment of this government to support the providers in this transition and it is just absolute nonsense for Andrew Wall to put a level of hysteria and doubt in the community sector providers that we are not there standing with them and supporting them all the way. Additional investment is also being made to respite services to provide short-term breaks for carers of people with a disability so that the support relationship is maintained and also provides a positive experience for people with a disability.
We have invested money in this financial year to enable the construction of a new, purpose-built respite home that will provide modern respite services for children with a disability. This is an exciting project as we partner with the community and with the
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