Page 849 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 22 March 2017
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commonwealth agency to also step up and appropriately support organisations. The ACT government provides significant funds to the NDIA and it is reasonable that post transition the ACT government can expect that the commonwealth should also better recognise and support the work of organisations such as SHOUT.
To focus on some aspects of Ms Lee’s motion that relate to my portfolio specifically, I think it is important to clarify some matters for the Assembly. ACT Health does not currently fund SHOUT and at present only one of SHOUT’s members has received funding from ACT Health. But ACT Health has been engaging SHOUT in discussions recently about its future and, as we have stated on multiple occasions, we will continue to do so.
With Minister Stephen-Smith, we will work with other partners and health service and health consumer organisations across the ACT community to further strengthen our ability to provide support for people with chronic conditions. There is an opportunity to integrate this with broader work already underway. That includes the clinical services framework, a range of initiatives already being delivered, as well as commitments made by Labor to invest in preventative health, health literacy and support to people with chronic conditions.
While I agree with all members that it is disappointing that SHOUT has decided to close, I will again reiterate my intention to continue to work with Minister Stephen-Smith and our colleagues and our community sector partners toward as smooth a transition as possible for SHOUT members. We will also explore the opportunities to integrate this into our ongoing work to improve support for people living with chronic conditions and a disability in our community.
If I could just reflect on some of the comments Ms Lee made earlier, I think it would be wrong and misleading for those opposite to imply that where there are multiple directorates and multiple ministers dealing with this situation these organisations have therefore been shunted. It is, in fact, a reflection of the government’s commitment to working with SHOUT and other partners in the community sector that they engaged ministers, ministers’ offices and a number of directorates in trying to seek a pathway for SHOUT members to ensure that their future support is guaranteed.
There is a fine line between the disability sector and the health sector. That is one we are very cognisant of, one that we have been considering all the way through the transition to the NDIS. We want to make sure that organisations and member organisations that provide vital support services do not fall between the gaps, but there are many opportunities for us not only to include in a new model the current members of SHOUT but perhaps other organisations in the community that provide similar services.
We see this as an opportunity to continue to work with member organisations, and I would note that I am particularly disappointed that Ms Lee would misinterpret the extensive work that is underway by ministers, by directorates and by staff members, and conflate that with no longer caring for vulnerable people in our community. Many of us do work in this place supporting community-based organisations, supporting vulnerable families, and I find it quite insulting that she would conflate extensive
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