Best Suburban Report in Print - Rachel Flaherty

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LeaderCranbourne

cranbourneleader.com.au WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2011 $1 Incl.GST

Please explain

Tess, 12, is a diabetic whoneeds 24-hour care. So why did

Centrelink axe her mothersfamily care payments?

PIcture:CAMPANVALERIU

N37BL502

Health | Rachel Flaherty

CR AN B O U R N ES M a i ri -a nneMacartney lives in fear that everynight might be her childs last.

M s M a ca rtne y s 1 2 -y e a r-ol ddaughter, Tess, was diagnosedwith type 1 diabetestwo years ago.

Now Tess needs 24-hour care tomanage her incurable diseasesafely.

But this year, Centrelink with-

out giving a reason told MsM a c ar t n ey t h a t T e s s w a s n olonger entitled to a carers allow-ance.

If I allowed Tess to look afterherself, she would be dead, shesaid. It makes no sense and I justcant understand how they couldcancel it.

Ms Macartney said Tess neededupto eightinjections a day, finger-prick blood tests every two hoursand strict monitoring of her food.

How could she wake herself upat 2am to do a blood test? If herlevelsdiptoo low, shecan slip into

a coma and it can be fatal, shesaid.Every morning I wake up at

7am and before I go into the room,

I pray she is still alive. How cananyone think a child over 10 yearsis independent of parental care?Even a healthy child cant lookafter themselves at 12 years.

Ms Macartney said she knew ofother families with diabetic chil-dren who had their applicationsrejected recently.

Centrelink general managerHank Jongen said due to privacyissues he could not comment on a

specific case.The test used to assess eligibilityfor carer allowance changed eightmonths ago.

The new tool assesses the carerequired and provided, where theprevious tool assessed the func-tional ability of the child, MrJongen said.

We dont make the rules, but wedo have to follow them to the let-ter.

A spokesman for federal Famil-ies and Community Services Min-ister Jenny Macklin said con-d i t i o ns l i k e t y p e 1 d i a b et e s

manifested differently in differentchildren.For some children, the level of

care they need decreases as they

get older and they become moreable to manage their conditionthemselves, she said. Carers ofchildren with type 1 diabetes whoare aged 10 or over can still qual-ify for the carer allowance.

Theonly difference is they haveto go through the normal assess-ment process.

Should FamiliesandCommunityServices Minister

JennyMacklinreview thisdecision.Tell usatcranbourneleader.com.auand

wewill passyour supporton.

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Cranbourne Leader April 13, 2011 9

BEHIND THE NEWS

OUR CAMPAIGN

Leader wants thecarers allowancefor parents ofchildren with type1 diabetes returnedand the ageincreased to 18

FAMILIES ANDCOMMUNITYSERVICES MINISTERJENNY MACKLIN

HOLT FEDERAL MPANTHONY BYRNE

Ms Macklin and Mr Byrne, youcan make a change

What are you doing tomake this happen?

I have advocatedfor Tess andMairi-anneMacartney and

will continue tosupport themand the Leaderscampaign withrepresentationsabout the deepcommunityconcerns onthis matter tothe Minister forFamilies andCommunityServices.

This is a sensitiveand complexmatter. I haverequested my

departmentprovide me witha comprehensivebriefing on thisissue and I willcarefullyconsider it.

Parents want real action

CranbourneresidentMairi-anneMacartneysays herdaughterTess needs24-hourcare. Picture: VALERIUCAMPAN N37BL502

Centrelink apology insincere, mothers sayHealth | RachelFlahertyCENTRELINKS apology for upsettingmothers involved in Leaders Save Our Chil-dren campaign with intimidating phonecalls has fallen flat.

Last week, mothers of children with type 1diabetes said they feltbullied by calls from aCentrelink employee.

General manager Hank Jongen issued anapology for any distress that might havebeen caused to families.

NSWmumAmandaLarsensaid that toher,the words felt insincere. Theres just noheart in it and it never feels like they arespeaking to a person, she said.

They are absolutely not doing their jobproperly and these are the people makingthedecisions ofthesepoor familieswithsickkids.Im disappointedwith the general man-agers response.

Her barrister, Chris Branson, who is help-ing Ms Larsen with her case to win hercarers allowance, said he had written toCentrelinks legal department telling themthat their staffer who made the call was incontempt of tribunal and called for furtheraction.

They havent responded to me and this is

a very serious matter, he said. What theydid was way out of line and repugnant be-haviour. And their apology theyve pub-lished to the families is pathetic and mealymouthed.Leadercan reveal the Centrelink employee

told the parents involved he was ringing onbehalf of Minister for Families and Commu-nity Services Minister Jenny Macklin to filea report.

Ms Macklins office has not responded tothe Leaders question asked 10 days ago inrelation to the call.

Cranbournes Mairi-anne Macartney saidthe apology had not made a difference to hersituation as her application for a carersallowance was rejected for a third time thisweek. I still dont feel Im getting any helpfrom Centrelink, she said.

I was surprised they rejected me again, itdoesnt make any sense to me at all.

This is emotionally very draining but Imdoing it because I feel they havent got therightto saya 10-year-old canlookafterthem-selves.

MsMacartney said shehadfiledfor a socialsecurity appeal and was waiting for a hear-ing date.Centrelink apology, p16.


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LeaderCranbourne

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Dontaxe myallowanceIN LESS than 48 hours Federal FamiliesMinister Jenny Macklin will considerthe findings of a review into the careof more than 5500 children with type 1diabetes.

The Cranbourne LeadersSave OurChildren campaign has lobbied hardfor the minister to overturn herdepartments decision to axe the carers

allowance to local families when theirsick children turn 10.

Indeed, it was thanks to the supportof families like Nici Cairneys (right) who may lose their allowance on her10th birthday in four months and thecampaign that prompted the review.

Time is running out and parents areurged to email the minister todayexplaining why she should leave theallowance alone.

Email [email protected]

Report p7Picture: JILL MITCHELL N51BL503

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WEEKYOUR GUIDE TO COMMUNITY EVENTS & FUNLeaderLeaderCranbournecranbourneleader.com.au $1 Incl. GSTWEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2011

WEVE

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SAVEOURTHEFederalGovernmenttodaywill

announceit isreinstatingthe carersallowancetothousandsof familieswhose childrensufferfromtype1 diabetes.Family andCommunityServicesMinister JennyMacklinfinally bowedtopressureafter theCranbourneLeader

launchedits Save ourChildrencampaignnearly fivemonthsago.MsMacklin saidchildrenup tothe ageof16willautomaticallyreceive the$52-a-weekcarersallowance.Herannouncement isa bigwinfor familiesacrossAustraliawhohadtheir allowancesaxedwhen their sickchildrenturned 10.The Leaderscampaignforced theministerto orderareviewintoherdepartmentsdecisioninAprilthisyear.Todays

breakthroughhascomeasa huge

surprisetoparentswhowere beginningtothinktheyhadlosthopeofhavingtheirallowance returned.CranbournesMairi-anneMacartney,whowasfirst tocontactLeaderwhenher13-year-olddaughterTesssallowancewascut in February,saidshehasbeenunabletostopcryingsincehearing thenews.I amoverjoyed, shesaid.Itis a greatreliefanda huge emotionalburdenhasbeen liftedfrommy shoulders.Iwouldlike tothankLeaderandalltheparentswhohavesupportedoneanother.Anothermother, LisaGilbert fromNarre

Warren, said shewasoverwhelmed.

WhenBen(herdiabeticson)came infrom schoolI justhuggedhimso hard.

Nobodyreallyknowswhat goes onbehindclosed doorswhenyoulivewith a childwithType 1 diabetes.It isnotalwayseasyandoftenheart-breaking.

MsMacklin toldLeaderthe

governmentwill invest$42.6millionover thenext four yearsandthiswill extendthecarersallowancetomorefamilies.

Todayschangerecognisesthat type1diabetes is a life-longconditionfor whichthereis currentlynocure,and providesparentsandcarerswithrecognitionandfinancial supportforthecarethey provide.

Carers ofchildrenwith type 1 diabetesagedmore than10yearswillhave theirpaymentsbackdatedtoJuly1, 2011.

RACHELFLAHERTY

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Best Suburban Report in Print - Rachel Flaherty