Page 88 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 10 February 2015

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Everything is being done under the radar. We are told not to tell carers that Joy Burch was coming to a forum—

forums or meetings—

regarding the respite closures. It is all secrets and lies. Protect the Minister is the mantra. But who is protecting the clients? The vulnerable?

This is a letter that has come from staff within the minister’s directorate and illustrates an inability to manage or be across her portfolio load.

We can safely say we have moved on from this point. The national disability insurance scheme trial is well and truly underway, and Disability ACT have taken a back seat in terms of service delivery. But the same scenario of under the radar decision making occurred in the middle of last year with the decision to close early intervention services for children with autism and global developmental delays. This was a decision taken by this minister that affected over 300 young people, their families, their carers and countless more through the extended family, not to mention those who were on waiting lists to access services.

This decision was taken without adequate provision for non-government organisations to get ready to enter this space. The decision was also very poorly communicated to families that were affected by this move. This is the behaviour typical of Joy Burch as a minister. At the time of the announcement that government-run services would cease, she refused to meet with families to hear them out, provide any explanation or confirm that services would be available to meet their needs. It took relentless pressure from me and my colleagues on the opposition benches to ensure that there was a guarantee from this minister on this issue that no child would be left behind. However, until the very last days of school last year, some children were still questioning what the 2015 school year would mean for them.

The reasons for moving this motion today have been made evident by the litany of mismanaged issues, misquotes and bumbling behaviour outlined by my colleagues today and further confirmed by recent media reports on the decision such as increasing poker machine limits and the mishandling of the closure of Tharwa Drive.

On the issue of the poker machines and the clubs, a new Chief Minister and a newly formed cabinet is sending a message of competence and trying to instil confidence in the business sector. What level of unrest and uncertainty is there in introducing a new policy only to pull it back a couple of weeks later over the Christmas break? Businesses—particularly, in this instance, the club sector—were wondering: “What does this mean? What is the direction of government? How do we plan for it? How do we implement our policies?” They were asking how they operate their business to continue to offer the employment they do, offer the community contributions they do and offer the support they do to all Canberrans.

The Lanyon Drive issue has been well played out, and there has been the positioning of the Tuggeranong Community Council as the cover for the minister’s mishandling


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