Question Time

Human Services Portfolio

Ms PRATT (Frome) (14:07): My question is to the Minister for Human Services. Can the minister advise the house of her portfolio responsibilities, including her role in assisting South Australians who are struggling with homelessness?

The Hon. N.F. COOK (Hurtle Vale—Minister for Human Services) (14:07): Sorry, could you repeat it? I didn't catch it. It was very quiet.

Ms PRATT: I am happy to raise my voice, Mr Speaker. My question is to the Minister for Human Services. Can the minister advise the house of her portfolio responsibilities, including her role in assisting South Australians struggling with homelessness?

The Hon. N.F. COOK: Thank you very much for the question. I am delighted to spell out the portfolio responsibilities that I have as the Minister for Human Services.

With respect to the first part of the portfolio, people with disability living within South Australia are entitled to the best possible outcomes, the best possible supports and the best possible care given to them. They are also entitled to have advocacy and voice facilitated. As the Minister for Human Services, I work very closely with the department in relation to ensuring that all the appropriate and requisite legislative mechanisms are in place for them to be able to access all those things.

Obviously, it is such a complex and vast area for people with disability in relation to the nature of the disability. When it happens in their life, whether somebody is born with disability or whether somebody acquires disability later in life, the responsibility of the government and the community lies in terms of not just what the minister does but what we facilitate as a community to ensure that we access groundbreaking programs, like the NDIS.

In terms of that, the minister's responsibility is to ensure that the state receives the very best deal for all people with disability. Part of that includes how the $800 million or so per annum that is sent off to the federal government from the state government as part of the bilateral agreement is brokered. Part of that is ensuring that we have an appropriate workforce with the appropriate training in order to be able to provide those supports to people with disability.

We have, in the state government's purview also, over 500 people living in supported disability accommodation under the watch of the South Australian government. Those people are only under the watch of the South Australian government with the requisite supports and training and consistency because of the campaign that South Australian Labor in opposition ran with the unions, with the families and with the consumers to ensure that the Liberals didn't, when in government, outsource and privatise those services.

We were all subject to much lobbying, much communication, and we continued to listen to people with disability in those services, which we continue to do now as a government. Part of my responsibility is to ensure that we have all the information pulled together, to make sure that we have a best practice, evidence-based solution to the outcomes for people living with disability.

We have approximately 1,600 paid support workers and other staff who provide that level of support and care to people living with disability. Many of those have had decades of experience and, again, continue to be workers with a secure job looking after people with complex disability under the support of and the watch of the Department of Human Services with my assistance, my oversight as minister. That is one part of the responsibilities as Minister for Human Services, and they are only under our purview because we fought for them.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. N.F. COOK: Well, there is so much to talk about.

The SPEAKER: Order! The leader has the call.