Page 1590 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 14 May 2019
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information and resources in formats other than a solely IT-focused way. This is something I hear over and over again.
According to some recent data, 21.8 per cent of people aged 65 and over in the ACT had not had face-to-face contact with a family member or friend not living the same household in the last week. We must look at how we can make contact with other people easier. That includes items like suburban infrastructure improvements, making it easier for them to get around their own suburbs. That can be avoiding trip hazards, having wider paths and making sure there are bus stops near where they live, including outside retirement villages.
Another issue we will talk about in another debate here in this place this week is the closure of the hydrotherapy pool. Indeed, as Ms Le Couteur has pointed out, there is a standard in the ACT for how close a bus stop is. People living in Lanyon, Gordon, Banks or Conder—it does not really matter—with severe arthritis that requires them to use the hydrotherapy pool face, as we heard today in question time, a three-hour round trip just for the bus component.
They must also get to the bus stop with arthritis so severe that it requires hydrotherapy and then from the bus stop to the hydrotherapy pool. Not only that but they must then get to the far end of the pool, where the change rooms are, and then back to the other end to access the pool itself and then do all of that in reverse to get home. This is a complex issue that impacts the everyday lives of older Canberrans. If we have not looked at the impact of closing the pool, why have we not? I know Mrs Dunne is going to prosecute this tomorrow, so I will stop there.
Another issue raised with me over and over again when I am talking to people is that more than half of people aged 50 years and older feel that the rising cost of living is leaving them behind. That comes from the report of the COTA federation; that is not me saying it. I talk with seniors all the time. There was Seniors Week recently, including the seniors expo. Seniors clubs, retirement villages, groups and individuals, RSLs, COTA ACT, National Seniors ACT, University of the Third Age, the Canberra Multicultural Community Forum, Winnunga Nimmityjah, the Retirement Village Residents Association, Carers ACT, Volunteering and Contact ACT are all groups working hard in our community to support older Canberrans to enable them to feel more connected in their community. I commend the work they are doing and thank them for what they are doing.
Many other smaller and less formal groups exist as well. Near where I live, a number of Heart Foundation walking groups provide a very real point of contact for older people to get together every week. For example, in Bonython they walk around the suburb and then go to a local cafe for coffee and—I am probably not meant to mention it—a cake. This is not only a health benefit but a social benefit to those people.
In 2018 ACT water and sewerage prices increased by 8.3 per cent for the year, which was above the national average. This feeds into the discussion I have with many of these groups about the rising cost of living. The most significant rise in utilities costs in 2018 was gas and other household fuels, which rose by 17.8 per cent. That means
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