Page 5600 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 17 November 2010
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Reflections photographic competition goes from strength to strength, with positive images of seniors displayed annually in the Canberra Centre.
The ACT government recently called for tenders to run the ACT Older Persons Abuse Prevention, Referral and Information Line, a new helpline which will provide information and referral for callers with concerns about elder abuse. The tender closed on 16 November, yesterday, and I am looking forward to making an announcement of the successful tender.
In the area of public housing, over 300 new older persons units will be built this year with the assistance of funding from the commonwealth government’s nation building and jobs plan.
In support of ACT seniors clubs, a new Tuggeranong seniors club will be built in 2011, at a cost of $1.5 million. This is an excellent asset for the Tuggeranong community.
In support of volunteering opportunities for seniors, Southside Community Services, with the assistance of a seniors grant, has recently launched the “shine a light” program that aims to link senior members of the community who want to volunteer their time and skills with community groups across Canberra.
The ACT strategic plan for positive ageing 2010-14, Towards an age-friendly city, identifies seven priority areas: information and communication; health and wellbeing; respect, valuing and safety; housing and accommodation; support services, transport and mobility; and work and retirement. These may well form the foundation for discussion points for the ACT older persons assembly. I commend the document as a basis for commentary for the assembly once it is convened.
Of course, this is a whole-of-government exercise, and I want to highlight some other agencies’ work. ACT Health has been active in promoting its “how do you measure up?” campaign and “get healthy information and coaching service” to encourage people to stay physically active as they age.
The Chief Minister’s Department worked with the Canberra Museum and Gallery to hold an exhibition earlier this year which celebrated the lifelong contribution of a selection of Canberra Gold Award recipients. Of course, “Time to talk—Canberra 2030” is an opportunity for older Canberrans to have their say.
TAMS continues to improve the accessibility of public transport, and its library services report that approximately 40 per cent of public library computer users are older Canberrans.
The Department of Land and Property Services has been working with Communities@Work on the “50 plus network”, a project in Weston Creek to determine what services people aged 50 and over need to live comfortably in their own homes and what activities they would like to enhance their quality of life. LAPS also has developed universal design guidelines to facilitate the better design of housing to meet our changing needs for people so that they can age in place.
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