Page 3346 - Week 09 - Tuesday, 21 August 2018
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
The minister for disability said in her evidence to the committee that she acknowledged people are falling or have fallen between the cracks. She said:
In terms of preventing people falling through the gaps, some of the gaps that have been identified are between the mainstream system and the NDIS, and that interface. So staff will be specifically working on that.
I know there are many in the sector who query how SHOUT is now able to have funding certainty—which of course is a huge relief and of benefit to so many Canberrans—but at the same time other worthy groups are going to face the same uncertain future that SHOUT faced only 18 months ago. The minister advised in the hearings that she and her directorate had a longstanding relationship with Epilepsy ACT and indeed Epilepsy ACT was supported for some years through that directorate. But now they are on the orphan scrapheap. The longstanding relationship apparently amounted to zip.
Groups such as Epilepsy ACT, Arthritis ACT and Cystic Fibrosis ACT should not have to upskill in lobbying and media tactics or go cap in hand to the minister so that they can continue to do the work they do. Equally, they do not want their volunteers distracted from assisting people to focus on fundraising just to keep the doors open. I would hope that the government might take a more flexible approach in such things as rent. Many of these organisations have received funding on the one hand from the ACT government, only to have to pay back a good percentage of it in rent.
Another area of concern is the number of young people with a disability or other long-term health issues who, due to a lack of supported accommodation, are living in nursing homes or elderly retirement villages. A response to a question on notice informed us that there are currently 38 young people in residential aged care. Why and how is this happening in Canberra? This is another of those issues that impact across more than one directorate. The estimates hearings acknowledged that collaboration across the directorates was important.
The current circumstances are entirely unsatisfactory to those 38 young people. I hope the minister and the directorate will up the efforts to find a more suitable arrangement and, in doing so, collaborate with other directorates to see whether more appropriate alternatives might be available. The estimates committee recommendation reflects the importance of collaboration, and I note that the government response on this is favourable.
Discussion also focused on the need for qualified Auslan interpreters, in conjunction with a languages register, given the previous decision to allow hearing impaired people the opportunity to serve on juries. This is another recommendation that will require cooperation across a number of directorates, including Education and JACS, to make sure we have sufficient training opportunities and access to justice.
There are still too many unanswered questions for those requiring support in the disability sector. There are still too many mental health patients who simply do not fit into an NDIS plan. There are too many families with children on the autism spectrum
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video