Page 833 - Week 03 - Thursday, 14 April 1994
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SOCIAL POLICY - STANDING COMMITTEE
Report on Aged Accommodation and Support Services - Government Response and Ministerial Statement
Debate resumed from 9 December 1993, on motion by Ms Follett:
That the Assembly takes note of the papers.
MS FOLLETT (Chief Minister and Treasurer) (11.42), in reply: Madam Speaker, in concluding the debate on the Government's response to the report of the Standing Committee on Social Policy on aged accommodation and support services, I intend to emphasise the strong commitment the Government has demonstrated both to improving aged care in the ACT and to increasing the range of accommodation options available for our older citizens.
Let me say at the outset that the Government has determined that, in addition to the work already undertaken in this important area of social policy, the issue of accommodation and support services for the aged will continue to be a priority in 1994. As noted in the debate in the Assembly on 9 December 1993, a major issue for the ACT relates to the funding of nursing home and hostel accommodation for our aged citizens. I remind members that the provision of funding for nursing home and hostel places rests with the Commonwealth. I am, however, able to inform the Assembly that the Government has made considerable progress in arguing the ACT's case.
The Government has entered into new discussions with the Commonwealth regarding the inadequate number of Commonwealth-subsidised nursing home beds in the ACT. Of critical significance is the issue of place of residence over the last two years. Anecdotal evidence suggests that as many as 25 per cent of ACT nursing home residents come from interstate. Negotiations have focused on providing the hard data necessary to back up this assertion. The Government is expecting an outcome by the end of the 1993-94 financial year. The challenge for the Government, which we have embraced head on, is to establish the legitimacy of the ACT's claim for increased funding.
A second major issue relates to dependency levels, in particular for nursing home residents. I understand that the very high dependency level of ACT nursing home residents compared with those of other States has been independently validated by the Commonwealth. The unusually high dependency levels which exist in the ACT will enable the Government to argue, on the basis of compelling evidence, that funding for nursing home places in the ACT should be reviewed by the Commonwealth. I expect that this case will be put to the Commonwealth in the first half of the next financial year.
The ACT Government has pursued with the Commonwealth a number of additional matters which focus on improved services for older people in the ACT. Progress has also been achieved in relation to respite care for our aged citizens. Additional Commonwealth funding has been provided to enable the hours of the Dickson Day Care Centre and Burrangiri to be extended and for emergency respite services to be provided for people in their own homes, including overnight care.
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