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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-07-10 Daily Xml
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DISABLED STUDENTS, TRANSPORT ARRANGEMENTS

Mr PISONI (Unley) (14:33): Thank you, Madam Speaker. My question is to the Minister for Education and Child Development. Does her department have a policy to consult with families of children with autism with regard to changes to their transport arrangements or other services, and, if so, what is that policy?

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI (Hartley—Minister for Education and Child Development) (14:34): I thank the honourable member for this question. It is a matter that we take very seriously, and that is the matter of—

An honourable member interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: —providing appropriate transport services to students with a disability. We think this is very important. They are our most vulnerable children and it is incumbent on us to do our very best by them, and that is why we transport over 1,500 students with disabilities to and from schools every day in more than 300 taxis, 73 minibuses and 22 wheelchair buses.

The particular school about which the member asks the question has nine taxi runs that transport 43 students to that particular school. Of these runs, three were reviewed this year: two at the beginning of the year and one in the middle of the year. That is part of an ongoing process of review of taxi services to ensure that the transfer of students to and from school occurs as effectively and efficiently as possible.

The department has a panel of approved taxi providers, who tender for services when they are reviewed. In this instance, when the review occurred, an alternate provider was able to provide the same transport service at a lower cost. I acknowledge that change can be hard for some children, especially children who have a disability—change is difficult for most children, but especially for those who have a disability. I understand that in this particular case, the family in question had no grievance with the service provider or the taxi driver—

Mr PISONI: I rise on a point of order. The question was clearly about the department's policy on this matter. Does the department have a policy on this matter?

The SPEAKER: Thank you. The minister can respond as she chooses, but I would ask her to stick to the substance of the question.

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: That is exactly what I am doing. Clearly, we do have a policy, a very detailed policy, and that is that we have services in place to support our most vulnerable children. We review those services when it is appropriate and I expect that we communicate with families. In this case, I do not think the communication was adequate, but there is—

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis: You said that yesterday.

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: Yes, I did say that yesterday. We do have expectations in place that families will get as much notice as we can give them. This family was given some notice, however, for that family and for those particular circumstances that, obviously, was not adequate. I have asked my department to make sure that when we are reviewing these services and there are changes we ensure that families receive as much notice as possible. I have to say about the taxi service (for instance, let us imagine that it is Adelaide Independent Taxis), it is also possible that on that particular day—in this case, the young boy had had the same driver for five years and was very distressed when—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Could members on my right on the front bench please keep their voices down. They are interrupting the flow. Minister.

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: I have outlined the policy. The policy is that we communicate with families. I have said to them that as a result of what occurred yesterday, which I do not think reflects a systemic issue, I think it was a case of inadequate notice, that was the grievance—

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: No; we are not talking about a policy change. Nobody has a complaint with the policy or with the service delivery. The family in question has no grievance with the new service or the new taxi driver. It was simply a matter of notice. As a result of what occurred yesterday, I have taken the opportunity to go back to the department and say, 'We must ensure that at all times we give the families of vulnerable children, of children with disabilities, as much notice as possible,' and we will do that. I have to say that I think we do a pretty good job in transporting 1,500 of our most vulnerable students.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Minister, your time has actually expired.

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: I want to acknowledge what the member for Fisher said: it is a very good service. I acknowledge that from time to time things will go wrong, but we are mindful of the fact that we have in our care our most vulnerable children, and we will do our best for them.

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