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Legislative Counci 14 November 2000 |
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| Sandra Kanck Deputy Leader Australian Democrats Member of the Legislative Council |
Parliament Index |
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Legislative Counci 14 November 2000 |
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| Sandra Kanck Deputy Leader Australian Democrats Member of the Legislative Council |
Parliament Index |
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The Hon. SANDRA KANCK: I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Disability Services a question about the ADAM project on Eyre Peninsula.
Leave granted.
The Hon. SANDRA KANCK: At present, there is no accommodation on the West Coast and Eyre Peninsula to house people with an intellectual disability. Parents and carers are forced to send their loved ones away either to Whyalla or beyond to cater for their high dependency needs, which is both distressing and expensive for the families concerned.
Two years ago, a public meeting was held to assess the need for disabled accommodation on Eyre Peninsula. There was found to be a significant need and the Assisted Disabled Accommodation Project (ADAM) was borne from this meeting. A steering committee was formed with representatives from the intellectually disabled and their family and friends and relevant community organisations. Two meetings were held with the Hon. Robert Lawson and he asked the committee to provide evidence of the need for the service and to show community support and compare facilities within the state. As a consequence, a survey was conducted and it demonstrated a significant need-60 people wishing to access the service if and when it were to become available.
The committee visited a comparable facility in Victor Harbor. A submission was then prepared for an eight bedroom, high needs facility with staff available from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. daily. At this point the Housing Trust had also identified suitable premises with four double unit trust homes. The service would also have included respite and emergency care. The tenants would access day options or the Moving On Program between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.
The ADAM project proposal was submitted in December 1999. The committee was told that, as there is no accommodation for people with an intellectual disability on the West Coast, the application would be looked upon favourably. They were also told to expect a decision on the matter as early as February 2000. A decision was not made in February 2000. The ADAM committee was then told that a decision would be forthcoming by the 2000 budget yet this had not occurred by the end of June. It is now the middle of November and a decision has still not been made.
In the 2000 budget, the government acknowledged $12 million for supported accommodation yet the ADAM committee has still not received a reply from the Department of Human Services or the Intellectual Disability Services Council. When the organisers contacted Ms Liz Penfold, the member for Flinders, to arrange a time to meet with Minister Lawson, they were told it would be `a waste of time for six months'.
As a result of these delays, the Housing Trust premises originally identified are no longer available, and the ADAM committee is left bewildered as to the status of its project. My questions are:
1. Why should a person with an intellectual disability have to leave their community (including their family) to access care in an alien environment away from their loved ones?
2. What has happened to the money allocated from the 1999 and 2000 budgets to address the needs of the intellectually disabled in rural and regional South Australia?
3. What is the cost benefit analysis of the $12 million budget allocation, including the percentages allocated to rural and regional areas?
4. Why has the minister been slow in responding to the ADAM project submission?
The Hon. R.D. LAWSON (Minister for Disability Services): I reject the notion that I have been slow in responding to the ADAM project proposal. In fact, I met with Ms Moira Shannon at Port Lincoln prior to the establishment of the steering committee. I was most encouraging of the committee's efforts because I know that in some other parts of South Australia there have been successful community organisations established for the purpose of providing accommodation for people with disabilities (not only intellectual disabilities but also physical disabilities). In my view it is important for there to be a strong community organisation behind services of this kind. It is not simply a matter of handing over these services to a government organisation such as IDSC and expecting it to run the service appropriately. It is vitally necessary for there to be community involvement, and I commend the members of the ADAM project steering committee for their commitment.
I am surprised to hear the honourable member say that there was any suggestion that it would be a waste of time seeking a meeting with me for six months. In fact, I have on a number of occasions seen Ms Shannon and other persons who are promoting this project. However, all the details will have to be worked through if there is to be a vibrant service that provides the sort of accommodation that is needed as well as other support for people with disabilities.
This matter is within the purview of the Intellectual Disabilities Services Council. It is true that, in the additional budget allocation this year of not $12 million but $6 million from state funds and $4 million from commonwealth funds, attention is being paid to how those funds can be most appropriately applied. By and large, in respect of disabilities, we look at the needs of particular individuals and, where additional funds are allocated, it is the desire of the government to ensure that those funds go to support individuals and families in greatest need. That does not necessarily mean that a particular region, whether it be Eyre Peninsula or Lower Eyre Peninsula or anywhere else will be allocated funds. Our primary responsibilities are to those families and individuals who are in the greatest need.
I hope that in the ongoing examination that is presently being undertaken within the Disability Services Office and the Intellectual Disabilities Services Council an appropriate level of funding (in combination with the Housing Trust and other community groups) will be available for the purpose of ensuring that the ADAM project gets under way and that there are additional accommodation places for people with disabilities in the Port Lincoln area.
The plan of the steering committee is to establish a facility of eight bedrooms. We are not currently establishing institutions of that size. We prefer to establish group homes for between four and five persons to provide a non-institutional home-like setting for individuals. It is important that we do not seek to re-create what were, in the past, institutions which do not give the best quality of life for the individuals concerned. In recent weeks I have not received a report on the developments in relation to ADAM, but I will seek a further report. I assure members of the steering committee that a prompt response will be sent from the department and the IDSC to the latest correspondence, which I must say I have not seen.
