Page 1074 - Week 04 - Thursday, 29 March 1990
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In closing, Mr Speaker, I would like to refer to the whole issue of urban infill and urban consolidation which is part of this issue. (Extension of time granted) There is this whole problem of small-scale redevelopment. A proposal was put on the table and almost before it hit the deck there were all sorts of community concerns. What I would hope is that when that issue comes before this Assembly, by way of its standing committee, all the issues that caused those concerns back in those early days can be resolved and discussed at length by this Assembly committee. I am sure that this is one of the areas that we have to look at in relation to utilising the facilities that we already have much better and ensuring that, particularly in the areas closer to the city, we better utilise the large blocks of land that we have without degrading or denigrating the heritage or street scape value of particular sites.
That is one of the aspects that I think is important. I trust and hope that the wider community out there will be prepared to come forward and put their ideas onto the table so that they can be examined effectively and efficiently by this Assembly, by its committees and by the subsequent debate that takes place after that committee's report. On that note I will close my comments on this important issue. I commend the report and the Government's response to the Assembly.
MR STEFANIAK (11.37): I think this is a very timely report and I commend the members of the committee for it, and also the Chief Minister who, when he was Leader of the Opposition, initiated this report. It is one of the earlier acts of this Assembly. It is timely because we have an increasing number of aged in our community. For me this is one area which crosses into the welfare field where I have absolutely no doubts or worries about money being spent to assist these members of our community. Certainly there are certain recipients of welfare in our community who, I believe, could and should be better off looking after themselves, but not the aged. The aged in our community have brought up their families and have worked to build Australia into the fine country it is today. In very many cases they have participated in world wars and other wars, both for Australia and in the case of many ethnic people, for other countries, especially other allied countries. They are most deserving in their latter years of all the support the civilised community can give them. I think this report is most timely and it behoves us in this Assembly to do all we can for our aged citizens. (Quorum formed)
As Mr Humphries indicated and as the report indicated, the majority of the ageing never have need of specific services or accommodation and never lose the ability to lead active, satisfying lives. However, at the same time, increasing age does bring with it the higher risk of losing the ability to be independent and this loss of the ability to be independent may be manifested in any number of ways.
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