After eleven months of bluffing, Senator Vanstone has agreed to contribute to the Social and Community Services (SACS) Award increase in NSW, but on difficult terms and with no clear commitment of funds. The Minister's decision comes after the NSW Government has already picked up most of the tab for the $360 million salary increases. The Commonwealth's contribution will be in the disability employment sector, which the Commonwealth alone is responsible for funding - a fact the Minister grappled with needlessly for eleven long months. Senator Vanstone's decision is yet to be announced publicly, but was conveyed to the Labor Party by concerned employers in the disability services sector. But no one should be fooled into thinking Senator Vanstone is making amends for a string of poor decisions in disability services. Look at the fine print of her SACS offer: Extra funding is not guaranteed: each organisation or business must fight for its claim, and each claim will be assessed by the Department of Family and Community Services. Each applicant must provide a mountain of documents, including income and expenditure statements, cash flow and balance sheets. There is no timeframe for decision-making. There is no indication of minimum or maximum payments, nor of the total amount available from the Commonwealth. Compare this with the NSW Government's solution: a simple percentage increase in disability and community services funding, with a commitment to spending $290million. After months of refusing to accept any responsibility for increased SACS Award salaries, Senator Vanstone's belated decision is another black mark on her record. On issues with such serious consequences for people with disabilities, their families and their employers, and there is no place for Senator Vanstone's high-drama, high-risk negotiating style. The Minister's performance on SACS raises another big question. If the Commonwealth had the money for the SACS Award increase in its back pocket all along, does it also have more than $125 million in new funds for the Commonwealth-State and Territory Disability Agreement? Annette Ellis - Shadow Minister for Ageing and Seniors, Shadow Minister Assisting on Disabilities Media Statement - 3 October 2002 Source www.alp.org.au ###