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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2010-09-15 Daily Xml
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DISABILITY, UNMET NEEDS

The Hon. K.L. VINCENT (15:05): I seek leave to make an explanation before asking the Minister for State/Local Government Relations, representing the Minister for Disability, a question regarding unmet needs data.

Leave granted.

The Hon. K.L. VINCENT: Last Tuesday, while our nation held its collective breath waiting to see who would form government, the Minister for Disability issued a press release heralding the government's efforts towards bettering the lives of people with disabilities and their families in South Australia. At the same time, the minister published some of the most damning unmet needs data ever seen in this state, that being the unmet needs data for the half year ending June 2010, although I doubt many people have actually been able to access that data, which is hidden away in the depths of the Disability SA website under the title of the Provision of Disability Services in South Australia December 2009.

In her release the minister gave the government a pat on the back for providing an additional 68 families with respite, glossing over the fact that 469 families are still waiting. The minister also noted that 25 people had been provided with supported accommodation places. That may sound grand, but I cannot help thinking of the 1,097 people who are still waiting, 368 of whom are at immediate risk of harm to themselves or others.

The minister noted that there was an overall slight increase in the need for community support, whereas my reading of this data tells me that over the past 12 months there has been a 53 per cent increase in the need of the category one list for community support. I am no maths scholar, but I know enough to know that 53 per cent is hardly slight. However, despite this having been glossed over, I am pleased to say that the minister accepts that there is still much to be done in the disability sector. This is true, because there is much to be done to help the thousands of people still waiting, so my questions to the minister are:

1. When will the minister ensure that the unmet needs data for June 2010 is clearly listed and searchable on the Disability SA website?

2. How much will it cost to clear the new and ever-increasing category one unmet needs list?

3. How long will it take this government to clear the category one unmet needs list?

4. When will this government stop harping on about all that it has done to help people with disabilities in our community and make a real difference?

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) (15:08): I thank the honourable member for her questions and will refer those to the Minister for Disability in another place and bring back a response.

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