SA lags behind the nation in disability support
Feb 01, 2012
John Gardner MP
Shadow Minister for Families & Communities
Shadow Minister for Housing
Shadow Minister for Disability
Shadow Minister for Youth
SA lags behind the nation in disability support
Figures released yesterday by the Productivity Commission confirm that South Australia is lagging well behind the national average in the support we provide to people with disability.
“Yesterday’s figures show once again that the Weatherill Labor Government is all talk, no action, when it comes to disability,” Shadow Disability Minister John Gardner said.
“The Productivity Commission has reported that government expenditure on services for people with disability in SA is $234.90 per capita – well below the national average of $275.90, and streets behind States like Victoria, NSW and Tasmania.”
“The Commission has criticised government support across Australia for people with disability as ‘underfunded, unfair, fragmented and inefficient, and gives people with a disability little choice and no certainty of access to appropriate supports’, and it seems to be doubly so in South Australia.
“The lack of support for services has unfortunate outcomes in terms of social inclusion too, as other figures in yesterday’s report show that people with disability in SA and their families have lower participation rates in community activity than other States.
“We have the lowest rate of workforce participation for primary carers of any state – at just 50.8 per cent – which shows the pressure our carers are under at home.
“And we have nearly the lowest rate of community participation (contact with family or friends outside of the household in the past week) amongst people with a profound or severe disability in the country – at just 71.1 per cent.
“When the Labor Government responded to Monsignor Cappo’s report into disability services in December last year, they failed to commit so much as one cent towards improved services. This Productivity Commission Report highlights the folly of that failure.
“The Minister for Disability and Social Inclusion, Ian Hunter, must respond to this dismal trend of social exclusion and ensure that this sector is prioritised urgently through State Government funding. South Australians living with disability deserve better than the platitudes they have been receiving so far.”