Page 1006 - Week 03 - Thursday, 23 March 2017

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of the build of the new public housing that will be provided to tenants in the ACT and that will best suit their needs. I absolutely welcome Mr Parton to come along. I have also invited Ms Le Couteur to come along. I again extend that invitation to her. It is important that people get the chance to see what a great quality build this is, and what a difference it will make to people’s lives when they have decent homes.

ACT Health—mental health data submissions

MRS DUNNE: My question is to the Minster for Mental Health. Minister, did you ask questions at any stage between November 2016 and February 2017 about whether the Health Directorate had met the deadline for the submission of mental health data to the AIHW for inclusion in the ROGS report? If not, why not; and if so, what did the directorate tell you?

MR RATTENBURY: I have had a number of conversations with the Health Directorate in the period that Mrs Dunne asked about. I owe Mrs Jones a response on notice, which I will provide shortly after question time with some more of that detail. What I can directly say in response to Mrs Dunne’s question is that I have talked to them about it. I expressed my concern at the lack of ACT data in the AIHW and ROGS reports. I have discussed why that has happened, and I have discussed with the Health Directorate what they are doing to respond to it and to ensure that it does not happen again.

MRS DUNNE: Minister, do you hold weekly meetings with the Director-General of Health or other senior health officials? If yes, how often did health officials keep you updated about the progress of submission of mental health data?

MR RATTENBURY: As a matter of schedule I do. Some weeks I miss out or it gets shifted around. Some weeks there are two meetings, depending on what is going on. The general answer to Mrs Dunne’s question is yes. In terms of the frequency with which I discuss this issue, certainly since probably mid to late January it has been more or less a weekly topic of conversation.

MR COE: Minister, has your directorate established whether the data issues have impacted or could impact the level of commonwealth funding for mental health services in Canberra?

MR RATTENBURY: I can certainly assure Mr Coe that it is not impacting on the treatment of individuals, let us be clear about that to start with. In terms of his broader question, I do not believe so, but I will seek further advice and confirm any more specific details.

Disability services—government support

MS ORR: My question is to the Minister for Disability, Children and Youth. Minister, what is this government doing to promote connection and participation in our community for people with disability?


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