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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2020-07-21 Daily Xml
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Disability Services

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (14:35): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Minister for Human Services regarding disability services.

Leave granted.

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN: Today, the government's own Disability Advocate and the co-chair of its disability task force appeared at the federal inquiry into the Ann Marie Smith case. In relation to the expansion of the Adult Safeguarding Unit to cover people under 65, Dr David Caudrey said, 'One of the recommendations is that that expansion happens sooner rather than later.' There is legislation in the other place to remove the transitional provisions section of the relevant act that would allow this to happen. My questions to the minister are:

1. Does the minister believe this should occur as a matter of urgency before the parliamentary winter recess?

2. What is the minister doing to ensure that vulnerable adults with disability are protected while she fails to act on the recommendations of her own task force?

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (Minister for Human Services) (14:36): I would be delighted to send the honourable member the transcript of the press conference that took place here in Parliament House with the Hon. Kelly Vincent and David Caudrey. I think it was the day after we received the interim task force report.

It was widely reported, I think, that the state government had already started activating all the recommendations of the task force. Of course a number of them relate to the federal jurisdiction, so those have been provided to the federal minister the Hon. Stuart Robert, to the Quality and Safeguards Commission, and to the National Disability Insurance Agency. There are also matters that will be on the agenda for the Disability Reform Council meeting, which takes place this Friday.

At the time my comments were that all the recommendations were being activated. I had conversations with my colleague the Minister for Health and Wellbeing, as the Adult Safeguarding Unit is part of his portfolio responsibilities, and we have been working towards those assiduously.

As a government we have acted quickly because we have been quite distressed, as many South Australians have been, about matters that have arisen from the tragic death of Ann Marie Smith, and have undertaken to ensure that all those matters are implemented as quickly as possible.

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