Page 4622 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 27 November 2019
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apply to public holidays. Minister, what arrangements will be put in place to ensure that people can get access to homelessness accommodation and supports over the Christmas shutdown period, in particular at weekends and on public holidays?
MS BERRY: I thank Ms Le Couteur for the question. As Ms Le Couteur will know, over Christmas and holiday periods there are extended services available for OneLink. I do not have the details on me for the number of contacts for last year’s services when OneLink was open during the public holidays over the Christmas period, but I can get them to inform the Assembly of the work that occurred over that period.
The government will consider the hours of engagement for the Christmas period this year to ensure that people who do need access to support services over that Christmas period can access them, whether that is through OneLink or through other services in the ACT.
MS LE COUTEUR: What services will be provided to those experiencing or at risk of homelessness over the Christmas shutdown period, and will this include access to brokerage funds during that time?
MS BERRY: A number of services are available over the Christmas period, as Ms Le Couteur will know from previous years when the ACT government has ensured that OneLink has been open over that period. Of course, UnitingCare, the Early Morning Centre, Red Cross and all the other services will be available as normal. Information on whether they will be available on the Christmas public holidays will be available soon but it has not been considered as part of the government’s situation right now. We are looking at what services will be required, given what has happened over previous years, to make sure that people have those supports over that period.
MR PARTON: Minister, when will the OneLink Christmas operating hours be finalised, and how will that information be communicated to the wider public?
MS BERRY: I do not have an actual date for when that will be finalised. Certainly, the community will be made aware of that. It will be available on government websites as well as @OneLink and other services like the Blue Door, the Red Cross and the Early Morning Centre, to make sure that people are aware of when those services are available so that they can seek supports when they need them.
ACT Policing—staffing
MRS JONES: My question is to the Minister for Police and Emergency Services and goes back into history a little. Minister, what was the number of full-time equivalent frontline police in the ACT police force on 30 June 2011?
MR GENTLEMAN: I will take the question on notice; I do not have the detail of that in front of me just at the moment, from 2011.
I can say that this government is keen to invest in ACT Policing. In this budget we have invested $34 million for new officers. It will bring 60 or more police to the front
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