Page 1066 - Week 04 - Thursday, 29 March 1990
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people participating in community life. We will produce a consultation paper on age discrimination to address the issues of concern to the ageing. The age of retirement is, of course, a key issue. The Government will introduce general antidiscrimination legislation. As everyone knows, and as Ms Follett announced this morning, the enduring powers of attorney legislation commenced last year.
The policies and services for the ageing need to encompass considerations impacting on all portfolios. For example, health issues, important as they are to the frail and dependent ageing, must be seen in a broader context. When considering how best to meet the needs of Canberra's frail and dependent ageing population, we must also consider other services such as transport, communication, nursing services in the home, professional care, respite facilities to support carers, housing and supported residential accommodation. The blueprint adopts a holistic approach to meeting the needs of the ageing.
My colleague the Minister for Health has already spoken in detail on health policies and health service delivery for the ageing. Our blueprint addresses the cross-agency aspects and takes into account major policy initiatives such as the review of housing policy in the ACT and the Commonwealth-State housing agreement which takes into account aged persons' housing needs, in particular, design features for aged persons units; encouraging the private sector to take a more active role in providing residential accommodation for the ageing; joint ventures with the private sector for aged persons' accommodation; exploring ways to eliminate the after housing cost poverty trap; and home equity conversion schemes similar to those under consideration in other States.
There is the home and community care - HACC - program, which we jointly fund with the Commonwealth and where we will be negotiating to include key areas such as transport services, respite care and personal alarms as priorities for funding. There are negotiations with the Commonwealth on the provision of hostel and nursing home beds. Recently in the ACT, because of the improved delivery of services to the ageing in their homes, we have experienced a change in occupancy rates for hostels compared to nursing homes. We will be negotiating measures with the Commonwealth to redress the current imbalance in the ratio of hostel versus nursing home beds.
Another initiative is the delivery of a transport policy for the ageing, including the taxi rebate scheme for people with disabilities, health buses and policies for relaxation of parking infringement notices for taxis dropping off and picking up aged passengers. We will also consider the NCDC consultancy report on the "Review of Aged Persons' Accommodation and Services in the ACT".
The Chief Minister has already announced that a phone-in for the aged will be conducted during Senior Citizens'
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