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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-02-18 Daily Xml
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HEATWAVE

Ms PORTOLESI (Hartley) (15:16): Thank you, Vickie. My question is to the Minister for Families and Communities.

An honourable member: Good luck!

Ms PORTOLESI: Yes, Joe's going to need it! Will the minister advise the house of the governments' actions to assist the most vulnerable members of our community during the recent heatwave?

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE (Wright—Minister for Families and Communities, Minister for Northern Suburbs, Minister for Housing, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Disability) (15:17): An enormous effort went into supporting people in our community who we thought were most at risk during those terrible days—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE: —when the temperature was consistently over 40°. It was a concerted effort by our public sector agencies in partnership with our state's non-government organisations. They just simply went into action. With no fuss our agencies implemented their extreme weather policies on Wednesday the 28th, ensuring that their most vulnerable clients were cool and cared for. Domiciliary Care, for example, was making unscheduled visits to clients it thought may be at risk and phoning others. Over one weekend, for example, 1,500 visits were made and 1,100 phone calls were made; 400 of those phone calls were for those people who did not have a scheduled visit and they followed up anyone who had cancelled a visit.

Extreme weather policies were also in place with providers that supply Home and Community Care services and disability services, as well as the owners of supported residential facilities; and these organisations were contacted to verify they had enacted their extreme weather policies. I can advise the house that 139 disability providers were contacted. Disability SA's Service Coordination contacted over 4,000 people and followed up with visits where necessary. Also, 70 coolers and fans were purchased, repairs were made to air conditioners and, in one instance, a refrigerator was bought and taxi vouchers were provided for people.

While these agencies were providing extra oversight of their clients, our concern was also for those who might not be receiving specific services but who in these extraordinary circumstances also needed reassurance. In partnership with the Red Cross Telecross service, 1,500 South Australians over 80 years of age were phoned, their wellbeing checked and follow-up calls were offered—many accepted. Also, 662 people caring for others were contacted, and more than 3,000 people aged over 70 were also contacted. Again, many requested follow-up calls until the heatwave subsided.

There were instances where people required assistance, and this was provided promptly. I visited the Red Cross teleservice on three occasions; I was even recruited to make some calls, and I can tell the house that those receiving them really appreciated the care that was being afforded them. The Red Cross volunteers and staff were as efficient as they were magnificent. The call went out to the Public Service to assist Red Cross and, again, their generosity and commitment came to the fore with many volunteering. The RDNS also did a magnificent job. When I called in there on Sunday afternoon, their workers were just turning up to help out, and they worked flat out throughout the heatwave ensuring their clients were also safe.

Homeless people around the city and throughout the state were provided with extra services as day centres agreed to open for longer hours and handed out bottled water, hats and sunscreen, as well as offering a place with fans, fridges, showers and food. Further, the Street to Home Service increased outreach visits into the Parklands, encouraging people into cooler shelter.

I thank the business community for providing homeless services with bottled water and other amenities to help meet the extra demand and the city council for allowing people in need to use the Franklin Street bus shelter. The homeless services were also provided with taxi vouchers and bus tickets by the Department for Families and Communities to help people access their appointments for housing, health and income security. I understand that some were even transported to the North Adelaide aquatic centre and taken to the movies to keep them out of the heat.

The heatwave provided challenges that this state has never seen before, and I am confident we will learn a great deal from our efforts. However, I put on record my appreciation of the efforts put in by so many people: our public servants, going above and beyond the call of duty in caring for those they were aware of; most particularly, those in my agencies—the Office for Ageing, Housing SA, Families SA, Domiciliary Care, Disability SA—and I extend particular thanks to Lynda Forrest who facilitated much of our coordinated effort.

Thank you to those in our non-government organisations who, every day, provide such great services to people in need and who, in these special circumstances, displayed their professionalism and compassion. Most especially, I extend a big thank you to all those volunteers who did such a magnificent job.

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