Page 47 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 13 February 2018
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proceedings and sentencing of somebody to custody, people are sent a letter inviting them to join that list. But, on reflection, in light of this matter I think we will now re-examine that process because that is possibly not the best time for people to be focused on those sorts of matters at the end of an undoubtedly difficult court process. We will now review that.
The other part of it is that I think we need to reflect on whether in fact it is an opt-out process either for all offences or some categories of offences. We need to be careful in thinking about this because for some people they will not be wanting to receive updates about the person who has been convicted. They may not want to get any contact. So we need to work some nuance into that system.
What I can also inform the Assembly is that this is exactly why we are working on a victims charter, trying to improve the experience of victims in the ACT to make sure that they are getting the support they deserve and need from the ACT government.
MRS JONES: Minister, how many disappointments have you experienced as a minister in this system?
MR RATTENBURY: I am sure Mrs Jones feels she has a longer list than I do.
Mrs Jones interjecting—
MADAM SPEAKER: Mrs Jones, your newest member is keen to ask her first supplementary.
MISS C BURCH: Minister, what did you learn from this incident, and what changes have you made to protect victims and their families?
MR RATTENBURY: I invite Miss Burch to reflect on the answer I gave to the initial question, in which I went into some detail about the reflections on this incident.
Health—report on government services
MR STEEL: My question is to the Minister for Health and Wellbeing. Compared to the national averages in the recent report on government services, in what areas has the ACT been able to show that Canberrans are healthier?
MS FITZHARRIS: I thank Mr Steel very much for his question. It is a pleasure to share with the Assembly that the latest report of government services data released at the end of January confirmed Canberra’s status as one of the healthiest cities in Australia. It shows ACT residents are healthier and live longer when compared to the rest of the nation. It also highlights that when they do get sick, they have access to a world-class health system to help them get better.
Let me go to some of the highlights from the report. In 2014 the ACT had a lower incidence of all cancers except cervical cancer compared to national figures. Excluding 2013, when it was the second lowest, the ACT had the lowest rate of potentially avoidable deaths between 2007 and 2016. In 2015-16, the ACT had the
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