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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 03 Hansard (Tuesday, 9 March 2004) . . Page.. 918 ..

grapples with this on a daily basis, but we see no action and no concrete evidence of things changing in our system. I refer to elderly people being forced to endure totally unacceptable antisocial behaviour from a minority of tenants. We keep being told it is from a minority of tenants and, if that is the case, why oh why are we not able to fix the problem? What is the matter? What is going on—or, more to the point I would say, what is not going on?

I find it dreadfully distressing to take calls from aged people who are suffering in a way that should never, ever, ever happen to anybody at the age that some of these people are at. Why is this government allowing our senior citizens, those that have worked tirelessly and contributed to our community, to suffer in such a way? I thought that they stood on a strong social platform of caring for people and particularly the aged. We have heard a litany of things reeled out this afternoon that indicate the masking of a major crisis in aged care in the ACT. The government is hoodwinking the Canberra community and it has the gall and audacity to pretend that there are no such problems. We have 255 beds; what has happened to those? Our planning is in an absolute shambles. We have a minister abrogating his responsibility to the senior citizens of this community. How appalling is it that we seem to have legislation to cater for minority groups regarding same-sex adoption, human rights and the like but we cannot look after the aged people in our community.

I am ashamed and appalled. How cruel and heartless is it to make anybody suffer so much that they cannot enjoy the piece and quiet of their own homes. I can hear quite clearly now Mr Quinlan, sitting in his room, saying, “Oh, Mrs Burke, the bleeding heart.” Well, thank God for bleedings hearts, Mr Quinlan, and the rest who may be listening. Somebody has to stand up for these people. Somebody has to stop the massive cover-up that is going on in this town. Senior citizens of our community deserve dignity. In their twilight years they deserve to be treated like human beings and with the respect that they have earned. But what do we do to them? Many of these people are left to languish in situations where there are all-night parties, loud music day and night, violence, drug activity and other antisocial behaviour. And often, I would add, it is not the fault of those people carrying out these particular patterns of behaviour; we do not have a mental health step-down facility in the ACT where many of these people belong.

Our senior citizens surely are entitled to a high level of dignity. Many are too frightened to venture from outside of their front door; they are prisoners in their own homes. Oops! We cannot say that word here. There is an alarming increase in a minority of tenants who use bullyboy-controlling tactics within some of our multiunit complexes. It is time that ministers and this government took their responsibility seriously. We have a Chief Minister who is abrogating his responsibility and concentrating on fringe topics, pet subjects. Real people are suffering. What on earth is going on?

Mr Corbell: I raise a point of order on the basis of tedious repetition, Mr Speaker.

MRS BURKE: Oh, please! Don’t you like to hear it, Mr Corbell? This bit is for you, Mr Speaker. Mr Corbell waxes lyrical about the social plan, the spatial plan. And Mr Quinlan raves on about the economic plan. Where is the plan for the elderly? Where is the plan for our senior citizens? No. This, like health, like education, does not seem to be a priority. How appalling is this? It is a low priority. Surely we owe a great deal to our seniors. They have served and contributed to this community in a way that can be repaid

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