❓ Mr. McGowan questions the Premier about the closure of the LEARN Foundation for Autism and requests assistance. The Premier details a meeting with parents and explains the closure was due to unpaid taxes and debt, which the government is hesitant to cover, but is working to assist affected families.
AnsweredQoN 230Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
LEARN FOUNDATION
FOR AUTISM CENTRE — CLOSURE
230. Mr M. McGOWAN to the Premier:
I refer to the closure today of the LEARN Foundation for
Autism, a centre for high-needs children with autism. Will the Premier now put
the children first and help this organisation to prevent it closing today; and,
if so, what will he do?
FOR AUTISM CENTRE — CLOSURE
230. Mr M. McGOWAN to the Premier:
I refer to the closure today of the LEARN Foundation for
Autism, a centre for high-needs children with autism. Will the Premier now put
the children first and help this organisation to prevent it closing today; and,
if so, what will he do?
AnswerView source ↗
I have just met with the person who runs LEARN, with several —
Mr M. McGowan :
Mandy.
Mr C.J. BARNETT :
Yes, I know—Mandy. I was not going to name her, but you did.
I met with her; in fact I invited some parents to come and
meet me, which they did. She also came along. I very much understand the
distress of the parents and what it means for their individual sons and
daughters. I talked to them, together with the Minister for Disability
Services, Hon Helen Morton, and also the member for Alfred Cove. We discussed
some of the children's needs. The member for Alfred Cove is still with
them. There are no cameras, no press secretaries and no media. It is a proper
meeting to talk about their personal situations. That is what we did.
Mrs M.H. Roberts :
You were pressured into it, though, weren't you?
Mr C.J. BARNETT : I
wonder whether the Leader of the Opposition knows why they closed their doors
yesterday. Does he know?
Mr M. McGowan : Are
you going to abuse them again?
Mr C.J. BARNETT :
Does any member opposite know the reason? They were told by the liquidator that
they needed to close their doors because of a problem with pay-as-you-go tax;
in other words, tax paid on the salaries of employees. That is the seriousness
of the issue. Related to that is a debt, which I believe is around $300 000.
Does the opposition think that the state government—while it is large,
it is nevertheless a limited disability services budget—should pay
unpaid tax and should pay accumulated debt? I do not think it should. What we
are now doing as a government, through the Minister for Disability Services, Hon Helen Morton, is trying to see
what we can do to assist those families. Fifteen families have already come
forward to try to find another placement. That work is happening right now. We
are also having discussions on how we might help to maintain some of those
services. I do not believe that it is the role of government or of the taxpayer
to pay tax that should have been paid by a private entity, nor is it the role
of the taxpayer or the government to pay debt that has been accumulated by a
private entity. A bit less theatrics in here, Leader of the Opposition, and a
little more genuine concern for the children and the organisation would have
done the opposition a lot better.
Mr M. McGowan :
Mandy.
Mr C.J. BARNETT :
Yes, I know—Mandy. I was not going to name her, but you did.
I met with her; in fact I invited some parents to come and
meet me, which they did. She also came along. I very much understand the
distress of the parents and what it means for their individual sons and
daughters. I talked to them, together with the Minister for Disability
Services, Hon Helen Morton, and also the member for Alfred Cove. We discussed
some of the children's needs. The member for Alfred Cove is still with
them. There are no cameras, no press secretaries and no media. It is a proper
meeting to talk about their personal situations. That is what we did.
Mrs M.H. Roberts :
You were pressured into it, though, weren't you?
Mr C.J. BARNETT : I
wonder whether the Leader of the Opposition knows why they closed their doors
yesterday. Does he know?
Mr M. McGowan : Are
you going to abuse them again?
Mr C.J. BARNETT :
Does any member opposite know the reason? They were told by the liquidator that
they needed to close their doors because of a problem with pay-as-you-go tax;
in other words, tax paid on the salaries of employees. That is the seriousness
of the issue. Related to that is a debt, which I believe is around $300 000.
Does the opposition think that the state government—while it is large,
it is nevertheless a limited disability services budget—should pay
unpaid tax and should pay accumulated debt? I do not think it should. What we
are now doing as a government, through the Minister for Disability Services, Hon Helen Morton, is trying to see
what we can do to assist those families. Fifteen families have already come
forward to try to find another placement. That work is happening right now. We
are also having discussions on how we might help to maintain some of those
services. I do not believe that it is the role of government or of the taxpayer
to pay tax that should have been paid by a private entity, nor is it the role
of the taxpayer or the government to pay debt that has been accumulated by a
private entity. A bit less theatrics in here, Leader of the Opposition, and a
little more genuine concern for the children and the organisation would have
done the opposition a lot better.
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