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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2022-06-15 Daily Xml
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Homelessness Services

Ms PRATT (Frome) (14:44): My question is to the Minister for Human Services. What actions did the minister take last Friday night to ensure that the accommodation was organised for said homeless person, and did she follow through in person? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Ms PRATT: The minister claims records showed approval was granted at 4.42pm on Friday for this single mother to receive motel accommodation. However, the single mother claims she called to confirm at about 7pm and she was told there was no booking in her name and no rooms available.

The Hon. N.F. COOK (Hurtle Vale—Minister for Human Services) (14:45): Thanks for the follow-up. I think I actually explained that in the previous answer, where I said to you that I had spoken—

Mr Whetstone: You said weeks ago.

The SPEAKER: Member for Chaffey!

The Hon. N.F. COOK: —to the lady. Then I spoke through to our department. I had the adviser with me. We spoke to the housing manager and made sure they were aware that I was personally approving the accommodation for this lady so that it happened quickly. You might be aware that sometimes it takes hours to get emergency accommodation—

Ms Pratt: It didn't happen; the booking wasn't there.

The SPEAKER: Member for Frome! The minister has the call.

The Hon. N.F. COOK: —funding approved—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. N.F. COOK: Okay, you're not aware. It does; it takes many hours—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The minister will not respond to interjections. The minister has the call.

The Hon. N.F. COOK: It's really difficult. I am trying to hear what she's saying. It takes many hours to get emergency accommodation approved. In fact, in the regions it takes longer, and regional members will know that, so we are actually addressing that now. What happened then was I made a confirmation call with the chief executive officer so that we made sure that everybody was on the same page. The way the conversation was left at, I don't know, around five or thereabouts was that the process was in place to book the hotel and ensure it was available. No, I did not ring up late at night or after hours to confirm that was happening because, frankly—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Hartley is called to order.

The Hon. N.F. COOK: —I would be on the phone—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Frome is called to order. The minister has the call.

The Hon. N.F. COOK: —all night, every night, seven days a week, personally as a minister, and not one of you would have done it as a minister. I would not have done it.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Frome!

The Hon. N.F. COOK: However, I am grateful that—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Chaffey!

The Hon. N.F. COOK: —that this lady ended up in a hotel—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Flinders! The minister has the call.

The Hon. N.F. COOK: Just to provide you with an example of the character—

Mr Cowdrey interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Colton!

The Hon. N.F. COOK: —of the person that deals with these types of vulnerable people—

Mr Cowdrey: The shadow minister did it.

The SPEAKER: Member for Colton!.

The Hon. N.F. COOK: We previously had dozens of emails calling out inaction on behalf of the previous government—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Frome! Member for Hartley!

The Hon. N.F. COOK: —that we are still trying to deal with—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Frome is warned.

The Hon. N.F. COOK: —one of which was a gentleman whose property was ticked off—

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Point of order.

The Hon. N.F. COOK: Excuse me, you don't even know.

The SPEAKER: Minister, there is a point of order.

The Hon. N.F. COOK: I know.

The SPEAKER: Minister, please be seated. I will hear the point of order under 134.

Mr Tarzia interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Hartley is called to order and warned. The member for Morialta.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: The question was specific in relation to the actions taken last Friday and what was done to ensure a hotel room was actually available when promised. Standing order 98 would require—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Elder!

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: —the minister to stay on that issue, and if she has concluded her answer to move on.

The SPEAKER: Very well, member for Morialta. I will ask the minister to take a line closer to the question.

The Hon. N.F. COOK: I think what I am talking about is the process that happens in terms of providing appropriate supports for people who are in crisis. Apart from calling out the hypocrisy of people who would like to say that a minister should be chasing around every night after every person, when said shadow minister gets an email from someone, who she ticked off on getting rid of their property before leaving government, and then says, 'I will take you to the media to fix the problem'—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Minister, please be seated.

Ms Clancy interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Elder! The member for Morialta on a point of order.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: The minister is not providing facts that are in any way germane to the question: standing order 98.

The SPEAKER: Very well. There is some force in the member's submission. I will continue to listen carefully. The member for Florey I note is interjecting. The minister has the call.

The Hon. N.F. COOK: The previous government did not build enough public homes for these people. We have put $180 million of new money into the system. We didn't claim to invest—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. N.F. COOK: —by simply flogging off public land—

Mr Tarzia interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Hartley!

The Hon. N.F. COOK: —and contributing that to the building: we have put actual new money into building real outcomes.

Mr Tarzia interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Hartley!

The Hon. N.F. COOK: In the example I was talking about, this gentleman cried out for help to the shadow minister, thinking 'Oh, this is the person I've spoken to before. She signed off on the transfer of the property.’ She then had the gall to say, ‘Hey, if you want to fix, this I'll take you to the media.' She didn't even refer him to my office.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The minister, as I understand it—

The Hon. D.G. Pisoni: Still blaming others.

The SPEAKER: The member for Unley is called to order. The minister, I understand, has completed her answer, and therefore it may be unnecessary to deal with the point of order.

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