Canberra meetings aimed to gain more C'wlth funding for disabled people [Audio]

"This is a make or break meeting" [407KB/18secs].

7/4/99
Disability Services Minister Paul Omodei will fly to Canberra tomorrow morning for crucial meetings designed to gain more Commonwealth funding for people with disabilities and their families.
Mr Omodei will meet with all other State Ministers tomorrow night and with the Commonwealth Minister on Friday.
The Canberra meetings are a direct result of the refusal last year by Mr Omodei and some other State Ministers to sign the Commonwealth/State Disability Agreement unless it included a commitment by the Commonwealth to address the nationwide problem of unmet need among people with disabilities and their families.
When the CSDA was finally signed, it included a clause committing the Commonwealth to ongoing discussions and a further meeting of Ministers to progress the issue of unmet need.
"I expect Friday's meeting to make real progress even if we don't arrive at the final outcome," Mr Omodei said.
"The Commonwealth cannot stall on this issue any longer and I am confident that they will not attempt to do so.
"A research program conducted by the Australian Institute for Health and Welfare on behalf of the Commonwealth and States established a nationwide figure of $293.8 million to meet the most serious needs.
"The time has come to begin to put that money into the system.
"All States will present their priorities to the Commonwealth on Friday after we have met on Thursday night to ensure that there is a high level of unanimity on the broad principles."
Mr Omodei said that Western Australia's priorities were:

• accommodation support services for people with profound disabilities who require intensive support outside their family home, but not in an institution;

• services for people with disabilities who have ageing carers. These would include support services in the home, respite for the carers, and day programs for the people with disabilities. For the first time, States were experiencing significant numbers of people with serious disabilities in their 40s and 50s with parent carers now in or approaching their 70s and 80s; and -

• support services for younger families through services in the home, respite, and day programs.

The Minister expects that all other States will have similar priorities and that the Commonwealth will be ready to discuss the structure of funding packages to meet these needs.
In addition to these funds, he will be asking the Commonwealth to agree to transfer Commonwealth nursing home bed payments to the State when young people with disabilities are transferred from nursing homes to more appropriate accommodation in the community.
For the last few years, Western Australia has been engaged in an outstandingly successful program to transfer young people from inappropriate nursing home accommodation to purpose-built accommodation which greatly improves their quality of life.
The program could be expanded if the Commonwealth agreed to continue paying the money it would have to pay if these young people remained in nursing homes.
Such a payment would also encourage other States to follow the WA pattern which was now recognised across Australia as being a great success.
Media contact: Hugh Ryan 9213 6705