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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) (14:40): My question is to the Minister for Education and Child Development. Given that the minister has agreed that the change in transport arrangements for children with autism could have been handled better, when will Kirsten Richards and other affected parents be advised of their children's new transport arrangements? I was advised this morning by Kirsten Richards that she is still unaware of her child's transport arrangements for the new school term which starts next week.

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI (Hartley—Minister for Education and Child Development) (14:41): I have to say that that surprises me—

Mr Pisoni: Nothing surprises me, Grace.

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: —because Kirsten Richards made contact with our office and she received contact from the department the same day—

Mr Pisoni interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr Pisoni interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Unley will behave or leave.

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: I suspect they asked her a number of questions to try to get to the bottom of what was going on. That is what we try to do: establish fact as opposed to fiction. We regard the safety and the comfort of our most vulnerable children to be the utmost priority in this—

Ms Chapman: When is she going to know?

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: Well, as I understand, the family was given two days' notice. The school was advised, say, on the Monday—and I do not have this information in front of me, so I could be corrected—and I believe that they advised the family on the Thursday or the Wednesday, and that was for the service to commence in term 3. So, actually the changes—

Mr Pisoni: So when is he being picked up? What time? Which driver?

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: —to be experienced by the young man will not be felt until the beginning of term 3, but the school was advised and, in a matter of a number of days, it advised the family. I have acknowledged very openly, in a very non-defensive manner, that I think more time would have been appropriate because of the very nature of the children that we are dealing with. I acknowledge that, but I have to say—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: Exactly. Routines are very, very important for our children who are on—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: —the spectrum. In fact, routines are very important for most children. But I have to say that I have acknowledged that more time would have been preferable. They are now going to make sure that, in future review processes, much more time is given to families. The department and my office acted promptly when we were contacted by the constituent. I think we have done our best in this situation.

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