RELATED: Sandhurst staff call for certainty
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
MEMBER for Northern Victoria Damian Drum has labelled the Certainty for Sandhurst campaign as "disappointing".
"There has been an awful amount of work that has gone on in the 12 months since we have made the decision to close Sandhurst Centre," Mr Drum said.
"What's unfortunate is the HACSU are making this issue all about the union.
"It has nothing to do with the union.
"This is about the clients.
"This issue is about finding a better life for the clients."
Sandhurst Centre disability workers rallied outside Mr Drum’s Bendigo office on Thursday morning.
HACSU state secretary Lloyd Williams was at the rally and said it was now 365 days since the state government's announcement of the closure.
Mr Williams said workers were no closer to having details about their futures.
Mr Drum said people working in the disability sector had never had greater certainty.
"Because of the introduction of the NDIS this is going to be a boom area," he said.
"For all of those workers to be in any way concerned about their futures is quite hard to fathom ... in my opinion, this is a protest for the sake of having a protest."
Mr Drum said the Sandhurst Centre's clients' needs were being put first.
"We are improving the quality of life of the client, first and foremost and above and beyond everything else," he said.
"It is staggering that the union are somehow or other trying to sabotage this move as being something other than the progressive action that it is.
"In the 365 days they are campaigning about, we have nearly completed all of the plans for all of the residents.
"There has been an enormous amount of work done with each and every one of the clients.
"And we're going to be able to give these clients maximum control over where and how they live."