DISABILITY CARERS

The Hon. K.L. VINCENT (15:04): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for the Status of Women a question about female carers of people with disabilities in South Australia.

Leave granted.

The Hon. K.L. VINCENT: One in five people in South Australia cares for a person with a disability and, furthermore, I understand that roughly 40 per cent of carers have some sort of disability themselves. I speak specifically of family carers, whose caring duties go unpaid and are performed only from necessity and, I would hope, compassion and love. Many family carers have essentially given up a previous life to care for the person they love, often because the lack of adequate government support means that there is no other option. Although I acknowledge and congratulate male family carers of people with disabilities, it is stated on the ABS website that 71 per cent of carers are, in fact, women.

I note that we have a Carer's Recognition Act and there are awards such as that entitled Women Hold Up Half the Sky to recognise women but it is the view of some carers that these are not really practical ways to acknowledge their mental, emotional and physical needs when undertaking their caring duties. Therefore, I ask the minister: what practical measures is the government currently taking to acknowledge female family carers in order to promote their physical and mental wellbeing? Given that our population is both growing and ageing, what measures will be taken to ensure adequate support for our state's carers in the future?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for State/Local Government Relations, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Government Enterprises, Minister for the City of Adelaide) (15:06): I thank the honourable member for her most important questions. Indeed, carers do play a vital role in our community. Many are involved in providing a wide range of services, often to family members but sometimes to friends. Their contribution often enables a person to live a far more independent life in their own home or in a home-like environment. It entails a great deal of volunteer time and a great deal of personal commitment and dedication. There is a carer's allowance, of course, but often the carers' contributions are simply enormous.

It is not just the amount of valuable time that carers dedicate—and the difference that can make to the life of a person with a disability—but also the personal sacrifice that many carers make, often in terms of giving up if not all at least some level of paid employment and also time out from opportunities to pursue other personal interests and, to some extent, even time dedicated to other members of the family. The sacrifices can be enormous and we certainly value carers extremely highly.

The issue of carers, including female carers, is the responsibility of the Minister for Families and Communities. It does not come within the purview of my portfolio but, obviously, it is an area in which I have a great deal of interest. I believe that the Minister for Families and Communities works very hard to ensure that carers are looked after. For instance, one of the projects being conducted at the moment—I am not too sure whether investigation or inquiry is quite the right word—is work done in looking at ways to protect the interests of vulnerable people and how measures can be strengthened to ensure those protections.

Unfortunately, in some cases, that includes protections against carers because there have been reported cases where abusive relationships have evolved. There are many people with disabilities who are particularly vulnerable but who may have very few alternatives available to them in terms of advocates to support their interests. That is one example of a particular project that I believe is currently under way where the minister is looking at ways of strengthening those provisions. I am happy to refer the questions to the Minister for Families and Communities and bring back a response.