In a move that has been welcomed by the Member for Benalla, Bill Sykes, Victoria will soon have legislation that sets out clear expectations for organisations that engage with carers.
The Carers Recognition Bill 2012 recognises all carers, including young carers, kinship and foster carers, and people providing support and assistance for someone with a mental or chronic illness and those supporting ageing parents, the frail aged or a person with a disability.
Dr Sykes said, “The Coalition Government has honoured an election commitment with the introduction of the Carers Recognition Bill 2012 and I welcome the legislation which sets out clear expectations on the treatment of carers throughout Victoria.
“In my electorate, for example, there are many individuals who care for loved ones with a disability, people who open their doors to give young people a home and organisations such as Mansfield Autism Statewide Services who provide support for parents and their children with autism spectrum disorders.
“These people make an enormous contribution to the community and they deserve support and recognition for what they contribute,” he said.
The Bill will bring Victoria into line with legislation in other states and territories and the Commonwealth.
Community Services Minister, Mary Wooldridge said that the Bill will raise the status of carers and care relationships in the community and sets out principles recognising carers for their contribution.
“The Bill is unique in recognising care relationships. Carers and the people they care for are in a shared arrangement and if the care relationship is strong, the carer and the person being cared for will have better lives.
“This approach to recognising the significance of care relationships has been the subject of extensive consultation.”
The legislation requires government and funded agencies to reflect on care relationship principles in the conduct of their business and report annually on the actions they have taken to comply with the principles.
The Victorian Charter Supporting People in Care Relationships will be updated to reflect the new legislation and will support implementation of the Bill.

Benalla Rural City will receive $810,000 over the next four years to identify and implement local solutions to social problems facing Benalla, Member for Benalla Bill Sykes said today.
“Benalla is one of nine small towns to share the Victorian Coalition Government’s $9.4 million Advancing Country Towns investment which provides funding to pilot innovative grassroots programs that will tackle local disadvantage,” Dr Sykes said.
“The Coalition Government’s Advancing Country Towns program addresses a range of challenges facing country towns including changing population patterns, ageing populations, migration of young people to larger regional centres and cities, and climate change.
“All nine communities have identified specific local issues inhibiting their community such as early childhood development, education and economic participation, including business development and industry support.”
Dr Sykes said he had a vital interest in addressing social disadvantage throughout the Benalla Electorate, and in particular Benalla.
“I have raised this issue repeatedly in the Parliament and this week spoke of the appalling year 12 completion rates among young country people and a situation of serious social disadvantage in rural Victoria due to the previous Labor Government’s neglect of country people.
“Attaining a higher level of education is fundamental to breaking the cycle of social disadvantage.
“I will take a close interest in the implementation of the program and envisage that this funding will, in addition to planning, provide valuable funding for projects that the community already have underway.”
Dr Sykes said that local program outcomes will include encouraging increased participation in maternal health and early childhood development in the 0-2 years as it has been shown that early mental stimulation and social contact improves learning outcomes in later years.
“Skills, training and employment pathways will address the need to minimise the number of disconnected young people through mentoring and buddy programs with Year 9 students a particular target.
“There is an urgent need to improve education pathways for young people, to increase the Year 12 completion rate and strengthen the link with further education.
“The program will look at ways to stimulate economic development to address above average unemployment rates.”
Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional and Rural Development Peter Ryan said many small country town across Victoria were experiencing changes to their population and economy and adaptation issues faced by industries vulnerable to environment and economic change.
“The Coalition Government’s $9.4 million Advancing Country Towns program will support Alexandra, Clunes, Heywood, Mallee Track, Meeniyan, Robinvale, Benalla, Colac and Lakes Entrance to adapt and act on these challenges and benefit from new opportunities,” Dr Sykes said.
Mr Ryan said the nine communities would be encouraged to shape local solutions and build their capacity to make informed decisions and set their own local priorities.
“Although significant investment has been made in these towns by successive governments, entrenched problems remain and have been compounded in some places by natural disasters, industry restructuring or demographic change,” Mr Ryan said.
Mr Ryan concluded, “Victoria’s Advancing Country Towns program will sit alongside the Coalition Government’s $1 billion Regional Growth Fund to deliver quality of life, new opportunities and increased prosperity across regional Victoria.”

The Baillieu Ryan Government is delivering its election commitment to introduce year-round concessions on electricity bills early with the discount now beginning on 1 March.
Nationals Member for Benalla, Bill Sykes said people throughout the Benalla Electorate who hold pensioner concession cards, health care cards or Veterans’ gold cards will now be eligible for a 17.5% discount on their electricity bills all year.
“This effectively doubles the concessions that were available under the Brumby Labor Government, and will provide much-needed financial assistance for members of our community on low incomes, through the hot summer months as well as during winter,” Dr Sykes said.
A concession card holder currently paying an electricity bill of $1,500 per year would save $262 each year from the concession and there will be an extra saving of $44 from the Coalition’s election commitment applying from 1 March.
“The Baillieu Ryan Government is delivering its election promises and this assistance for members of our community who need it most, is being delivered early,” Dr Sykes said.
Minister for Community Services Mary Wooldridge said across Victoria more than 815,000 Victorians such as aged pensioners, veterans, sole parents, people with disabilities and carers, will benefit from the year-round reduction of 17.5 per cent on their electricity bills.
Eligible concession card holders will receive the concessions through a discount on their electricity bill.
Minister for Community Services Mary Wooldridge said the Coalition Government had been working closely with electricity retailers to introduce this important election commitment as early as possible.
The timing for eligible Victorians first receiving the new discount on their electricity bill will depend on the billing cycles of individual electricity retailers. If a retailer cannot adjust its billing system to include the concession from 1 March in a customer’s next due bill, the discount will be backdated and included in the earliest possible bill after that.
“This initiative will be a big help to members of our community who have been struggling to make ends meet as the basic costs of living such electricity have been increasing,” Dr Sykes said.
The Coalition committed $351.4 million over four years to deliver the year-round electricity concession. An additional $22 million will be allocated to make the concession available from 1 March 2011.

Nationals Member for Benalla, Bill Sykes raised the issue of social housing in Benalla and the wider electorate in Parliament this week, speaking on the Health and Human Services Legislation Amendment Bill.
Dr Sykes said the bill sought to create two new departments, the Department of Health and a new Department of Human Services.
He raised concern that this move should not compromise the coordination between housing and other service delivery.
“It is important that the delivery of services is not made any worse, because right now we have a need for much better coordination between the provision of social housing in the electorate of Benalla and that of the associated support services.
Dr Sykes said that in the near future he would get an update from the Department of Human Services as currently it is withdrawing social housing from some smaller towns such as Bright, Murchison and Myrtleford.
“This is because it is recognised that many of the high-priority tenants have complex needs and the small towns cannot provide sufficient services to meet those complex needs.”
Dr Sykes continued, “But interestingly, there is a proposal to increase social housing in Benalla on the premise that Benalla can provide the services.
“This has been presumed without an audit having been undertaken of the services.
“If we are to have split organisations,” Dr Sykes told Parliament, “let us hope there is improved coordination to ensure there are links between things such as the provision of social housing and health services.
“If that is not done there will be on going widening of the significant social disadvantage gap that pervades much of country Victoria, and in particular Benalla.”

Friday 7 May 2010
Health and human services delivery needs ‘can do’ approach
During a contribution in Parliament last week on the Health and Human Services Legislation Amendment Bill, Nationals Member for Benalla Dr Sykes said that to improve the efficiency and quality of health service delivery a ‘can-do’ approach is needed.
The Bill enables the splitting of the Department of Human Services (DHS) into two new departments – the Department of Health incorporating health, mental health, drugs, nurse policy and aged care, and the new Department of Human Services comprising disability, housing, children, youth and families.
Dr Sykes said, “The basic premise in undertaking this split is presumably to improve the efficiency and quality of service delivery.
“I would suggest that the key factor in achieving this goal of improving the quality and efficiency of service delivery is organisational culture rather than organisational structure, which must focus on outcomes and process.”
Dr Sykes told Parliament that during a recent visit to the six health service providers in the Benalla electorate, who will all be affected by the split, he was impressed by the passionate commitment and professionalism of the management and staff.
“However each of the services also has challenges.
“Alpine Health Service has had to adjust to effective budget decreases - in the first instance, which was nearly eight years ago, it increased use of private health insurance and private patient admission.
“Last year it had to put off 10 staff members in order to meet the effective cuts.
“There is also the need to significantly improved aged-care facilities, particularly in the Bright area and improved public transport for people to get to these services.”
Dr Sykes said the Benalla Hospital is doing well in relative terms.
“That is a reflection of the good management and absolutely enormous community support in Benalla. But again it needs funding for additional aged-care facilities.
“Mansfield District Hospital is another service which has a major need for increased aged-care facilities and base funding for accident and emergency services.
“The Violet Town Bush Nursing Centre has gone ahead in leaps and bounds over the last 10 years and it is a really invigorating and stimulating environment to see the attention to the whole-of-community health which is applied there.
“Nagambie is in a similar situation, however Euroa is battling and is using income from its capital reserves to fund an operating shortfall. I have raised this with the Minister for Health because it needs prompt action.
“A new management or department structure may be able to facilitate this – a move towards an integrated shire-wide community health service.
Dr Sykes said mental health services needs also to be covered by the split.
“There is an ongoing demand for mental health services, particularly in country Victoria. At this stage the Benalla Community Health Service and Anglicare at Wangaratta provide excellent mental health services.
“The bottom line is that these services need continuing funding, including for outreach workers who can connect with the people in need.
“The other part of the organisational split is housing. In making the split I hope we do not make the coordination between housing and other service delivery any worse, because right now we have a need for much better coordination between the provision of social housing in the electorate of Benalla and that of the associated support services.
“It is vitally important that the restructure of the DHS results in an improvement in its organisational structure and is focused on a ‘can-do’ approach by both management and staff rather than a ‘can’t-do approach, which is so common in bureaucracies.”