Page 908 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 20 March 2019
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I point also to the rates experiment, the new format that went out recently. I know many older Canberrans, partly through my role as the shadow minister for seniors but also, to be frank, because I am one of those people myself. Many of my friends are older Canberrans. Many of them are brought up to absolutely respect authority. If they get a rates notice saying, “Pay now,” they pay now. We often talk about older people absolutely taking for gospel what a health professional tells them. They may not question what is happening. They are, generally speaking, rule followers. They are keen to do the right thing. They understand the need for rules. Things like the rates experiment—presenting a new format for the rates notice: the increase in rates but also the way it was presented—are quite disrespectful and difficult for many older Canberrans. It has been the topic of a lot of discussion.
I am very pleased that we have been able to talk about many of these issues during ACT Seniors Week. It is an important week. It gives many older Canberrans the opportunity to learn more about activities in their community through the Seniors Expo and a range of other activities. Many of the seniors groups and centres are having special activities during ACT Seniors Week. It not only provides an opportunity for people who already go to those centres and undertake those activities but, hopefully, it is growing the pool of people who learn more about the opportunities available to them. It is an excellent opportunity.
But we need to make sure that organisations such as COTA, which is doing so much to bring us Seniors Week, with the support of the ACT government and some other sponsors, are able to continue to provide such a valuable, valued and important opportunity for people. With the prices of everything going up, a fixed funding amount makes that increasingly difficult for them, especially with additional demand as we have more and more older people in our community.
We need to ensure that we do not use any denigrating language when we are talking about older Canberrans. Their needs, their wishes, their views and their input are just as valuable as anyone else’s. When you talk to them, this is what they will often say to you. They have paid their taxes; they have paid their rates; they have paid their dues. They have paid their respect over many years, and they expect that courtesy in return.
This government at times has not afforded them that respect. It has spoken about them in dismissive terms, which is unfortunate, as grumpy old men, in community councils and using other terms. I hope that we are not going to accept that as just how it is and that there is nothing we can do to change it. As we often say, “Every day each one of you here is getting closer to being in that cohort yourselves. I hope you appreciate how it feels, when you get there, to be treated in that way.”
I would like to thank everyone for their contributions to the discussion today. We will support the government’s amendment, but I hope it gives some pause for thought about the way you talk about older people and what we can do to make them feel more valued members of our community.
Amendment agreed to.
Original question, as amended, resolved in the affirmative.
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