Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Climate Action, Environment and Heritage) Share this | Hansard source

It gives me great pleasure to speak in support of the motion by the member for Riverina with regard to ageing carers. I want to add one simple thing to this debate and that is to put on the table a proposal for a national move towards greater use of supported accommodation where it suits the needs of parents, the carers and the adult children. I think it is an extremely important step forward. I bring it forward in the context that in Hastings in my electorate of Flinders on the Mornington Peninsula there is a highly developed model. It has been developed by Karl Hell of the Frankston Mornington Peninsula carers, Joy Jarman and David Jarman, all of whom are parents of a child with a disability, a child that they worry about as they age.

The starting point for this discussion is that each member of this parliament knows people, has constituents who are ageing carers who have deep anxiety about what will happen to their children whether they are 40, 50 or even closer to 60 years old who have an abiding disability. They need assistance but the parents are either facing a decline in their capacity or potentially the end of their lives. In that situation we need to relieve the anxiety for caring parents about security for the adult with a disability who is facing the prospect of losing their carers.

What I believe we need in Australia is a move towards many more options in relation to assisted living. Assisted living to me can take many different forms. I give as an example that which has occurred in Hastings, where they put together a model which does not have everything that the proponents wanted but does have a six-bed community residential unit providing 24-hour care for disabled residents. It has seven one- and two-bedroom supported independent living units for disabled adults. It does lack, despite the best efforts of the parents and carers, a respite facility. But we are working through other sources to achieve that on the Mornington Peninsula. In particular, there is a respite facility which is being proposed as part of the community use of Point Nepean, and I have supported that for seven years now. It was to be realised, but the state intervened with a very disappointing and spurious planning requirement which has effectively driven away a donor who was willing to provide $10 million towards respite on the Mornington Peninsula. That donor said, ‘I will find somewhere that wants it if the state government is going to stand in the way of it.’ That is a very disappointing and extraordinarily short-sighted outcome.

Nevertheless, the Hastings model presents a model, firstly, with community residential units providing 24 hours a day care for deeply disabled residents; secondly, with seven one- and two-bedroom supported independent living units for those with a lower grade of disability; and, thirdly, with 13 one- and two-bedroom units for those on a low income. This site is within 50 metres of my office in the electorate. I think it is a tremendous step forward. It is extraordinary that, after the change of government, we had such a struggle to get support for this project. But for the commitment of Joy and David Jarman, Karl Hell and all of the supporters, parents and carers within the Frankston and Mornington Peninsula it would simply have not come to pass.

Against that background the big history we are involved in is that we have seen a process of de-institutionalisation. The old forms of institutions, however well meaning, are clearly past their date. De-institutionalisation in many cases was simply a default just to the families. It moved from being a system of state care to a system of private care without any middle step. I think the middle step which is needed, the middle step towards which I will work—and which I thank the member for Riverina for the opportunity to discuss—is supported accommodation. I think that supported accommodation in small groups, whether it is five, or 10 or 15—(Time expired)

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