Page 3966 - Week 14 - Tuesday, 23 October 1990
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a difficulty for the future of the Territory. But the Chief Minister is not here, so I will not persist with that matter any more.
Another issue of concern which was reported on page 3 of the Canberra Times today concerned a young man who was involved in a fracas at the Bruce Hostel. Marcus English is the young fellow's name. I first met this young man at the launching of the autistic children's program more than a year ago, where a program was launched to help children suffering with autism. Ms English, as she was then, impressed me as a committed parent who wanted the best for her son and who wanted the best for young people who are in a similar predicament. Things changed in their lives and Marcus became difficult for her to handle. She was forced to look for other accommodation, and Marcus ended up in Bruce Hostel.
Now, what angers me about this young man's predicament and the predicament of Ms English is that she has been working very hard to secure a better environment for her son and for youngsters like him in our system, and this article in the paper this morning clearly describes the inability of the Government to do anything for this young man, and, in particular, slams Mr Humphries and Mr Bernard Collaery because of their failure even to reply to approaches that she has made in recent times.
The situation has developed to a point where the staff at the hostel are talking about industrial action. I suggest that this is outrageous in the circumstances because it is not their doing, it is the Government's doing that circumstances have become so difficult at that place that staff look towards industrial action to try to highlight the needs and the changes necessary for the provision of services to people in this sort of trouble. The Bruce staff are alarmed and concerned about it. I have taken a special interest in that place because of the concerns of the parents of the residents of the ACT who use that facility and because of the concerns of the staff about the future of that facility. I have to say that Sherry English is a tireless worker on these issues and she would have left no stone unturned in approaching the Government to improve the situation for youngsters who need those sorts of facilities. She has not been able to achieve anything, even though there have been many warm statements from this Government. The Government has failed again. It has been reported as failing in the Canberra Times and it will be remembered for it.
Mr Nelson Mandela - Visit to Canberra
MR DUBY (Minister for Finance and Urban Services) (10.26): Mr Speaker, first of all, I would just like to comment on what I regard as the outrageous claims made by the Leader of the Opposition in her opening of this adjournment
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