Page 350 - Week 01 - Thursday, 11 December 2008
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approximately $70 million each year based on savings in home care, residential aged care and hospital costs. The report also noted:
A comparative cost analysis of retrofitting home modifications in adaptable and non-adaptable homes in New South Wales found that modifications made to a non-adaptable home would cost between three times and 18 times as much as those made to an adaptable home, depending on dwelling type.
We also obviously need to be supporting programs which address safety in the home for older people and prevent incidents such as falls and, as a consequence of this, unnecessary admissions to hospital. In line with this we also need to be investing in step-down facilities as they are also important to assist with the process of older people remaining at home.
MR HARGREAVES (Brindabella—Minister for Disability and Housing, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Minister for Industrial Relations and Minister for Corrections) (3.27): Thank you very much, Madam Assistant Speaker Burch, and may I congratulate you on your appointment. How delightful it is to see someone of such exquisite expertise sitting in the chair.
I thank my colleague Mary Porter for raising this issue as a matter of importance in the Assembly. Colleagues might like to know that Mr Doszpot and I share something—the colour of our hair. That is why I got the portfolio of course in the first place. We can be encouraged—and youthful entrants into this august chamber might like to know—that Nelson Mandela was 76 when he became president of his country. You have got a long way to go, Madam Assistant Speaker; may you be here for a long, long time.
Nelson Mandela is now 90 and still active in charity work, fighting against HIV and AIDS, and lobbying, advocacy and peacemaking. He is an elder statesman. It clearly shows that age is no longer a barrier to embracing life and remaining active. But as Minister for Ageing I am determined to drive a whole of community approach to supporting health and meaningful ageing and to promote social participation for older Australians.
I would like to offer a quote by Geoffrey Bird, Executive Director of COTA—Council on the Ageing—Over 50s, in an article published in the November 2008 issue of Australian mosaic, which is the magazine of the Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils of Australia. This is a really great quote:
Ageing well and in place is about being able to make decisions and undertake activities with the maximum possible degree of independence from a secure material and social base. It is about living in your house with a sufficient degree of comfort, and moving around your community with relative ease. It is about being able to be largely self-reliant, pursuing one’s interests, keeping oneself healthy and engaged—physically, psychologically, emotionally and spiritually.
I think that is a great thing for us to carry forward. We need a strategic approach which engages individuals and government, private and community sectors, and that is our first step. I want to hear the views of older Canberrans and of those people who work with and support them.
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