Page 903 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 20 March 2019
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mentioned, better maintenance, priority footpath maintenance as well as cycling and walking route upgrades.
We also pushed for age-friendly suburb inclusions in our shopping centres and existing suburbs. Similarly, we ensured that strengthening specialist homelessness and housing support services for older women and home share for older Canberrans were included in the parliamentary agreement. Unfortunately, quite often the contributions of the Green are forgotten or minimised or capitalised on by other people.
I now turn to rates and cost of living, and I would have to say that older Canberrans are frequently at the front of my mind when the Greens are looking at these issues. I do have a number of friends my age who are not in the fortunate financial position I am in. And, yes, older women’s homelessness is a real issue in this town.
If you look at the parliamentary agreement, action 3.2 is:
Free bus travel for seniors and concession cardholders.
This has been implemented. Every day Canberra seniors are catching the bus for free, and I understand from a number of people that this is a significant help to cost of living and, importantly, encourages older people to get out and about and reduce social isolation.
On rates I can point to three areas where we have been acting on the needs of seniors. First, earlier in the term of this Assembly I raised concerns with the Treasurer about residential rates age deferment and how that had been set up. To be precise, only two people had taken advantage of it, and this was largely because it was limited only to those people with high land-value homes. That was how it was set up by the Carnell government. But this has now been fixed.
It is available to all older people who have 75 per cent equity in their homes. I think there is a modest means test as well. “Modest” is not possibly the word. I should use “expansive” means test. You do not have to be on social security to get it. Many older people in Canberra are eligible for it. I just cannot remember the exact dollar figure or I would quote it for you. But that issue has been fixed. What we need now is to make sure that people know about it.
Second, members may remember that in the second half of last year I put out a discussion paper about rates and tax reform. One of the key problems that I highlighted in that discussion paper was that, in particular, single, age pensioners with a modest older house, if they live in Garran, will be paying more than 14 per cent of their income in rates. Garran is a good suburb but it is not one of the suburbs that we see as being incredibly expensive. It is not Forrest and Red Hill. The Treasurer has now announced that there is going to be a review of tax reform ahead of the first phase of tax reform—and this will be a public review—and I very much look forward to seeing what that comes up with.
Third, in November last year I moved a motion on how the government deals with people in financial hardship, and part of that motion dealt with the kinds of issues that
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