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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 14 Hansard (11 December) . . Page.. 5260 ..

MR WOOD (continuing):

cooperation. However, many carers report difficulties with participating in decision-making processes and have poor relationships with agencies.

Through this policy, we will support carer participation at all levels of decision making, with respect for the rights and choices of people receiving care. We will work with agencies to have processes in place to share information with carers, engage them in decision making and involve them in organisational processes. We will support the involvement of carers in developing social policy, service plans and funding frameworks.

Mr Speaker, the caring for carers policy is a comprehensive and practical document. Its implementation will require new approaches to planning and delivering support for carers. Through our consultations we have gained much practical advice on strategies and actions that we can take forward. A draft implementation strategy will be put to a newly convened implementation group early next year and we will work with them to ensure that this policy has practical implementation where it matters most-for those people looking after others in the community.

It is a good document, Mr Speaker. I think it will help us very much in the future as we work in this area, and I am particularly grateful to all those people who have put so much time and effort into it.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

Canberra's library services and facilities

Paper

MR WOOD (Minister for Disability, Housing and Community Services, Minister for Urban Services, Minister for Police and Emergency Services, and Minister for Arts and Heritage) (3.42): Mr Speaker, for the information of members, I present the following paper:

A Longer-Term Strategy for Older People's Use of Canberra's Library Services and Facilities.

I move:

That the Assembly takes note of the paper.

I am pleased to bring to the Assembly today the government's longer-term strategy for older people's use of Canberra library services. It focuses on meeting the current and future needs of older persons for high quality library and information services and also recognises there are opportunities to develop linkages with other government, industry and professional and community organisations. Around 23 per cent of the library's customers are people over 50, and with Canberra's age profile changing we can expect this section of the community to grow to about one-third of the people using library services in 10 years time.

We made a policy commitment in September 2001 to work with the ACT Library Service, friends of the library groups, Council on the Ageing, University of the Third Age and other groups to develop a five-year strategy. As part of this process, the

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