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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, First Session (53-1)
2014-10-30 Daily Xml
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Disability Information and Resource Centre

The Hon. K.L. VINCENT (15:11): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking questions of the minister representing the Minister for Arts about the Disability Information and Resource Centre.

Leave granted.

The Hon. K.L. VINCENT: The Disability Information and Resource Centre (DIRC) has been servicing the disability community of South Australia for more than three decades now. As the DIRC website explains, 'DIRC provides a friendly and professional information referral service to the people of South Australia.' I would like to list a few of the services that DIRC provides: a library which contains in excess of 3,700 resources suitable for the general community, covering information on physical, neurological, developmental, sensory, intellectual and psychiatric disabilities and related issues; the Disability Information Directory of SA, which underpins the provision of the information and referral service with 950 South Australian disability service providers, organisations and businesses listed; Case Management: a guide to disability services; and professional and accessible meeting and function rooms for hire.

DIRC is also a sometime polling booth during elections, which is an important consideration given, as I have already explained in this place, that there is a lack of accessible polling booths in this state. Now, in October, we have learnt that DIRC is about to shut its doors. It will no longer provide an information and library service to South Australians with a disability, for family carers nor for people who work in the disability sector. The shoestring funding to run DIRC, provided by Arts SA as I understand, is about to cease. My questions to the minister are:

1. What future does the minister envisage for DIRC, and is it correct that the Restless Dance Theatre may set up a headquarters there?

2. What facility does the minister intend to fund to provide accessible IT resources, library resources and accessible meeting rooms to South Australians with disabilities?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation) (15:13): I thank the honourable member for her most important question about DIRC and its future and possibilities for future use, as she outlined in her questions. I will take those questions to the minister in the other place and seek a response on her behalf.

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