Page 2436 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 9 August 2016
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
starting to build up at the front and on the porch. The concerns that I hear all the time as I am out in the electorate are around fear of vermin, snakes, mice, rats and mosquitoes from swimming pools that have not been touched in many years.
Whilst it is very important to have a high regard for people’s freedoms and for people to be able to live as freely as possible within our society, there does come a point at which the impact on those around them does become severe and debilitating for neighbours and other dwellers in the area. In a city where we all live fairly close to each other, there does come a point sometimes when we need to act for the better health of the community. We also need to be mindful that shared fences and shared facilities that we live with are part of people’s homes, lives and property, and that we do not encroach upon our neighbours more than we have to. At the point at which their behaviours and their state of living start to invade other people’s lives, the government has a role to play.
It is important to protect the freedoms of those in our community so they can get on with their lives. However, supporting the freedom of others is also important. People’s desire for collecting things or not disposing of things can obviously get to a point where there are rodents, mice, mosquitoes and rats. Long grass, cars and fuel load on a property can become a fire risk. There can be fire hazards when vehicles and machinery are not properly cared for. The government does need to act when health hazards are created in the community. I hope that this method is functional and works. We will be happy to see how it is implemented in Canberra. Hopefully, the problems that we have to deal with in relation to a dozen or so properties around this city will be dealt with as sensitively as possible but we will still get an outcome ultimately for the community. We will be supporting the bill.
MR RATTENBURY (Molonglo) (10.50): As we have heard, and as many in the health and community sector already know, the issues surrounding hoarding behaviour are extremely complex and personal. The compulsion to hoard belongings, rubbish or even animals is unique to each person, despite the apparent commonalities, and each case therefore needs to be treated with sensitivity, care and compassion. For many people experiencing these issues, it can be years before other members of the community or the government support services are made aware, and it can be quite distressing to be finally confronted with the negative implications of any subsequent interventions.
That is why it has been so pleasing to see the ACT undertake a range of serious and genuinely collaborative approaches, over the past few years or so in particular, as the understanding grows in the clinical world of the causes and possible treatments. I would like to acknowledge the ongoing work of both the Canberra Living Conditions Network and the hoarding case management group in this regard as an excellent example of a coordinated whole-of-government approach to difficult circumstances that can present a hazard to not just those suffering from a condition, but at times also negatively impact on those around them and, as the bill clearly states, can present an actual safety risk to the community.
This bill has been brought through the Assembly with a degree of speed. I do, however, appreciate Minister Fitzharris’s willingness to discuss this with members of
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video