Louise Markus (Greenway, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to support the motion and the initiatives put forward to assist families with children with autism spectrum disorders. This is something close to my heart and something that I worked very hard to achieve when the coalition was in government. In particular, I support the call to have a specialised childcare centre established in south-west Sydney. It was the coalition that got the ball rolling on help for families with children with autism spectrum disorders. Last year the coalition announced funding of $190.7 million over five years. The key to that package was $116 million for early intervention programs to assist young children up to age six and their families to gain access to better support and services.

Historically, funding had gone to the states for broader disability support but those programs did not adequately address the needs of families with children with autism. As a consequence, many families battled on, getting what help they could from a state system that could barely cope with the demand. Alternatively, families saw how hopeless the state support system was and shouldered the costs themselves. In some cases that cost was estimated to be up to $20,000 per annum. The coalition took leadership on the issue and came up with a comprehensive plan. Over the five years of that plan, up to 15,000 families, carers and children were to gain access to a range of education, support and early intervention services.

The specific causes of autism are not known. What is known is that intervention works best when diagnosis is made early and a broad range of support services are utilised. There is no single, short-term solution. That is why I worked hard with families and my colleagues to come up with a plan to help those families. The coalition’s comprehensive plan to help families included: extending Medicare to cover diagnosis and treatment for children up to 13 years of age for paediatricians, child psychiatrists, speech pathologists and occupational therapists; training and support programs for parents and carers to undertake early intervention activities at home; one-day workshops and information sessions, including access to online workshops and information for up to 5,800 parents and carers of school students with autism spectrum disorders; professional development for an estimated 1,800 teachers and other support staff to assist school students with autism spectrum disorders to achieve better education outcomes; up to 200 new autism specific playgroups across Australia, providing access for more than 8,000 children with autism, by 2012; access for up to 4,000 eligible children who require more intense activities than can be offered through playgroup to one-on-one and tailored group programs for two years; and for 1,200 children who are the most severely affected, individual assistance of up to $20,000 for eligible families over two years to contribute to intensive early intervention services.

While I congratulate the new government for following the leadership of the coalition on this matter, I note that some of the specific programs put forward by the coalition have been watered down. Some of the numbers against specific programs appear to be missing. Many families are desperate for help and have enormous financial, emotional and social challenges. They are coping but barely. I want to thank not just the coalition for listening to my representations on behalf of my community but also my colleagues—the member for Sturt, the member for Riverina and the member for Canning to name some—for their advocacy.

There is much more that needs to be done. The challenges are still there. That is why I support, and call on the government to consider, a specialised childcare centre to be established in south-west Sydney. This is a good start but more is needed. I note that the government has said that through a related initiative they will establish six autism specific childcare centres which will provide individualised programs for children with autism spectrum disorders, but where is the detail? Autism is debilitating but with intervention in the early years children will have the opportunities to fulfil their potential, and they deserve nothing less. I call on the government to not just make a start but consider moving beyond this and consider a specialised childcare centre not just for south-west Sydney but for other parts of Sydney and the nation, and give families and their children with autism hope and support.

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