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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 3 Hansard (27 March) . . Page.. 715 ..

MRS CARNELL (continuing):

So, in cooperation with the Commonwealth, we brought in a consultant. That particular person worked with the staff and management of Jindalee over a number of months. There was then another look at the Jindalee Nursing Home situation, and I think at that stage Jindalee might have gone up to meeting three of the 31 quality standards. It was somewhere in that vicinity. At that stage Jindalee was tagged as a nursing home that did not meet Commonwealth standards, and it was put on notice that funding would be removed if it did not do something about it.

That was very much in the timeframe when we were looking at selling Jindalee. As part of the contractual agreement that we have with Johnson Village Services, they have undertaken to bring Jindalee up to Commonwealth standards, because, quite seriously, if they do not, they end up with a funding problem. They have indicated to us that they believe that they can meet 31 of the 31 standards within six months. I will certainly be keeping a very close eye on that; but, more importantly, so will the Commonwealth, because the Commonwealth simply will not fund nursing homes that do not meet a significant number of those quality standards. That was the problem with Jindalee.

MR WOOD: On a supplementary question, Mr Speaker: The Chief Minister simply confirmed the accuracy of my question. Apart from the need to ensure their future funding by meeting standards, I really want to know what this Government is doing to ensure that those standards are met. What action are you going to take? You did not do it when you were running the place. What are you going to do now?

MRS CARNELL: We tried extremely hard to bring Jindalee up to Commonwealth standards. But, Mr Wood, they are Commonwealth standards. They are assessed by the Commonwealth, they are part of the Commonwealth funding approach, they are part of the Commonwealth funding structure, they are the way that the Commonwealth assesses whether nursing homes - which are Commonwealth funded - are achieving quality outcomes. As part of our agreement with Johnsons, and in discussions I had with them, they certainly indicated to me that they believed that they could reach 31 of the 31 standards within six months.

Mr Wood: Do you accept that?

MRS CARNELL: It is a damned sight better than two or three, Mr Wood.

MS HORODNY: My question is to the Minister for the Environment, Land and Planning, Mr Humphries. We have received complaints about vehicle repair businesses operating in Liverpool Street, Macquarie. These complaints are typical of a number of complaints that we have received regarding the impact on neighbours of unapproved home businesses. So, my question is: What is the Government doing to enforce control over the establishment of home businesses, as specified in the Territory Plan?

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