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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2015-05-06 Daily Xml
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Positive Life SA

The Hon. K.L. VINCENT (15:44): Two years ago I spoke in this place, also in this format, about Positive Life SA, to commend the work it does in the community on a shoestring budget. Today I will again speak about Pos Life SA, but on a much sadder note. News has just come through to my office that Pos Life SA has not been awarded a contract this time with SA Health. Without funding, their services provided on a very frugal basis to their community—people affected by HIV—will effectively have to cease on 1 July after more than 20 years as an incorporated body.

So, a refresher on the work of Pos Life SA. The organisation used to be known as people living with HIV Aids SA, but is now Positive Life SA. Positive Life SA is a small community organisation based in the inner southern suburbs, and they provide community support and engagement to people living with HIV in a non-judgmental, peer-based fashion. They practise what they preach: all of the board is HIV positive.

At their modest Glandore premises they run a range of programs and services, they connect with the community and provide peer support programs, including pos day out, HIV treatment forums, planet positive, living up, pos on pos and chat club. Their services include complementary health services and an emergency food program called 'the hive', a small loans program, no interest loan schemes and a positive speakers bureau. They also have health promotion resources, short-term support referrals to other agencies, advocacy treatments information, a community drop-in reading library, internet access and family space and games areas.

The organisation has very much evolved to become an independent voice for people with HIV in South Australia, ensuring that their lived experiences of HIV directs the provision of effective health and wellbeing support services and activities. As a peer-driven organisation, Pos Life is led by a community-elected HIV positive board of management and has grown from modest beginnings to become an integral provider of information, advocacy and support to positive people across South Australia.

Since July 2009 Positive Life SA has been reorienting its services from individual client case management to a 'population health promotion' approach, involving the delivery of lifestyle engagement and change management programs that build HIV positive people's capability for self-management, health and increased quality of life.

As someone who is passionate about human rights, I have continued to be impressed that the Positive Life SA adheres to the keystone principles and practices of the Ottawa Charter 1986 and the Jakarta Declaration, and actively works to balance the wishes and needs of individuals with long-term health issues affecting the wellbeing, longevity and quality of life of all HIV positive people.

Additionally, Positive Life SA is committed to the principles underpinning the greater involvement of people living with HIV, principle 1994, and actively seeks to involve and sustain HIV positive people in all aspects of the organisation. In the past two years both myself and my office staff have attended various events, forums and educational opportunities that Pos Life has run. We have always been impressed by the professionalism, passion and dedication of their staff, volunteers and board members.

To learn today that the tender for the services that Pos Life SA has been dedicated to running for two decades has instead been awarded to a partnership between a Victorian organisation and a local semi-government organisation is incredibly disappointing. I will certainly investigate as to whether the same services will be provided under this partnership, but I am sad to say at the outset that it is not to say that the Victorian council does not do a great job, but that they certainly are not local and they do not appear to be community based in the same way that Pos Life has been to date. I will investigate that, but I have to say that this appears to be a sad day.

They do not have a board, as I understand it, that is 100 per cent HIV positive. Pos Life SA is committed to and lives the concept 'Nothing about us without us'. It is a devastating slap in the face for South Australians with HIV and the gay community that the health minister has awarded the contracts in this fashion. It is also incredibly disheartening to the staff and volunteers of Pos Life. I sincerely thank all those involved with Pos Life over the past two decades and wish them all the best with their future endeavours. I will continue to work to make sure we get no loss of services here in South Australia.

Time expired.

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