Page 902 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 20 March 2019
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make cities more age friendly include green spaces and walkways; well maintained, safe green spaces with shelter and toilet facilities, important for both younger and older people; outdoor seating available in a variety of parks and places within parks; transport stops; public spaces evenly spaced out and actually with arm rests as well to make it easier if your core strength is not that good so that you can actually stand up from the seat.
Well-maintained and smooth pavements are vital for older people. They are vital for anybody who actually walks around our city. They need to be level and non-slip and wide enough to accommodate wheelchairs and mobility scooters and include low kerbs. Roads, where we use them, need to be well designed with adequate non-slip pedestrian crossings, with crossing lights that give enough time that people who are slower, which may be older people, have enough time to cross.
In 2010 Professor Bruce Judd and a number of his colleagues from the University of New South Wales conducted a major research project into dwelling, land and neighbourhood use by home owners. And the authors reported:
Despite the apparent under-utilisation of their dwellings, a very high proportion (91%) of survey respondents regarded their home as suitable or very suitable for the number of permanent and temporary residents. This was consistent over three dwelling types (separate, attached, flat/apartment). The interviews reinforced this view with many emphasising the importance of having space for family and friends to come and stay and be able to host family gatherings. Some with partners needed individual personal space following retirement that they could each retreat to.
Older people like staying in their existing homes and neighbourhoods.
The same study looked at the barriers to neighbourhood participation for older people. These included inadequate and poorly maintained pathways, lack of handrails, ramps, seating and provision of public toilets. These are the things that I have just been talking about.
The age-friendly suburbs program was started by my colleague Shane Rattenbury when he was both TAMS minister and ageing minister, and I believe that this work has set the solid base and foundation for the current work of the ACT government which has included the expansion of age-friendly suburbs. First there were two, then there were four, and now we have Ainslie, Weston, Page, Hughes, Kaleen and Monash. And they are expanding over time, which again is why I support the amendment put forward by the government as opposed to the motion presented by Ms Lawder.
I do not agree that the Greens have demonstrated a lack of priority for older Canberrans. In fact I believe we have done the opposite. Minister Rattenbury, a member of the Greens, came up with the concept of age-friendly suburbs in Canberra in the first place. He also ensured that the parliamentary agreement contained the requirement to raise the profile of the active travel office and coordinate the rollout of $30 million additional for active transport, including in particular, as the first item
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