COMPANION CARD

Mr HANNA (Mitchell) (15:21): Why has the Minister for Disability let down people with disabilities and their carers by failing to introduce a companion card scheme in South Australia? The Companion Card scheme, which has operated in other states for years, provides discounts for carers of people with disabilities. Constituents of mine received correspondence from the minister in 2005 indicating that the government would bring it in here in 2006, and then correspondence in 2006 and 2007 indicating that it would come in this year. My constituents—a gentleman in a wheelchair and his wife—are not pleased that Victorians in similar circumstances attending the footy in Adelaide pay less than they do, thanks to their Companion Card.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Minister for Families and Communities, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Minister for Housing, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Disability, Minister Assisting the Premier in Cabinet Business and Public Sector Management) (15:22): An announcement will be imminent about the launch of a companion card—

Mr Hanna: Now is a good time.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: You will get an invitation to the event. In fact, I can announce that we are planning to launch the Companion Card in, I think, early December, and I will make sure that the honourable member has an invitation. We have had to revise the initial budget on what this would cost in discussions with ACROD (now called National Disability Services), which is the non-government organisation we had originally intended to administer this scheme. Instead of the additional $230,000 it will now cost $370,000—which we have found and will provide to it.

We have also been negotiating with Companion Card Victoria to borrow some of its intellectual property to assist us in setting up this system, and NDSSA has agreed to manage the marketing phase for the implementation of this program over the next three years. I think early December is the target date, and as soon as those arrangements are finalised we will happily invite all honourable members.