Page 169 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 10 February 2016

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I move the following amendment which has been circulated in my name:

Omit all words after “calls on the ACT Government to” in paragraph (2), substitute:

“(a) work with 1RPH to identify alternative funding streams and business development opportunities in order to sustain its financial viability;

(b) write to the Federal Minister for Disability drawing this matter to his attention; and

As is highlighted in my amendment, the Community Services Directorate will continue to work with radio 1RPH to identify alternative funding streams and business development opportunities. I shall also be writing to the federal minister for disability to draw his attention to this matter, and I undertake to report back to this Assembly concerning this matter by the last sitting day of June this year.

Radio 1RPH has been a part of the Canberra broadcasting community for 30 years. Its services are valued by its visually impaired listeners, and we shall work with Radio 1RPH in looking at every option in order to sustain its financial viability.

MR RATTENBURY (Molonglo) (3.53): I welcome the opportunity to discuss Radio 1RPH today, and I thank Mrs Dunne for bringing forward the motion regarding the future of Radio 1RPH. I know that she has had a long, enthusiastic involvement with the station, so it is quite appropriate for her to bring this forward today and raise it for the Assembly’s attention. I appreciate the comments she made about the spirit of that.

As members have identified, Radio 1RPH has had a proud 30-year history in Canberra, providing radio for people who have visual difficulties and disabilities. Book readings, the BBC news, newspaper headlines, death notices—the radio station provides an invaluable service to those who are handicapped in their reading skills and cannot read for themselves easily. In that context the changes brought about by the national disability insurance scheme are significant for Radio 1RPH.

There is no doubt that the implementation of the NDIS has not been without its challenges. The ACT has been at the forefront of those challenges, and agencies and organisations here have had to problem-solve their way around some of the new processes.

The intent of the NDIS was to ensure that people with a disability had greater control over how their money was spent and enabled them to purchase the services they need to improve their quality of life. The model has been easier to implement for individual service purchases, the tier 3 services, but it has been harder to manage with other types of services.

There are a number of examples. Information and linkages under the scheme are to be provided under tier 2 funding where providers are providing services that cannot be funded by individual purchase. Information services and services that provide early advice or referral are hard to purchase through an individual package.

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