Page 2100 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 5 June 2019
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I talk specifically about a group that the increasing cost of living is having an increasingly high impact on, and that is older Canberrans, our seniors. No group in our society seems to be feeling the pressure of the increasing cost of living more than older Canberrans. As a cohort, they are more likely to be living on fixed incomes, they are more likely to have a disability or a chronic condition, they are more likely to be sensitive to the increasing cost of living.
Older Canberrans are not just vulnerable; they are worried. They are worried that they will not be able to afford to live in the city they call home. They are worried that they will not be able to continue to live the way they have always lived and the way that they worked for while they were working in our community. They are worried they are being priced out of their own home by the rates, fees and charges applicable to their own home. They are worried about being a burden on their children and families. They are worried whether they can afford to turn the heater on this winter which, as we all know, has already been bitterly cold just in the past week or so.
How many older Canberrans are counting their coins and cutting back on social events so that they can pay their next bills? That might not sound important but loneliness and isolation have many flow-on effects to the health and wellbeing of our older Canberrans. How many grandparents are unable to buy that birthday present for their grandchildren? How many lay awake at night worried and scared about the financial burdens they are carrying and the future financial burdens because they know that under this government their rates, fees and charges continue to go up? These are people who have worked and paid taxes their whole lives.
But this government has abandoned them. The government has left them behind in their crusade for the young, hip city. Their bus route has been cut. The government wanted to close the hydrotherapy pool without considering it may be a three-hour round trip to go to the proposed replacement hydrotherapy pool.
In last year’s budget the ACT seniors spectacle scheme was cut significantly, which made vision care less accessible for older Canberrans. In yesterday’s budget $1½ million was stripped from the inclusion and participation subunit which administers and funds community sector services and programs and contributes towards community events, awards, ceremonies and grants for seniors and veterans. If we were to test the morals of this government on how it treats its older citizens, I would have to say that the answer would be: embarrassingly poorly.
The difference here between the government and the Canberra Liberals could not be starker. We recognise that every action in this place directly affects Canberrans. We are listening to the community and we hear what they are saying. We understand that the ever-increasing taxes, fees and charges are making it harder for people to live in this city, many of whom have lived here for decades, if not their entire lives.
For pensioners, for self-funded retirees and even for those older Canberrans who are still working and indeed who may have to keep working in order to pay their bills, this city is becoming increasingly unaffordable. We see that rates and land tax have increased by $300 million in six years—nearly doubling—and we know this is more than just numbers on the page of a budget book.
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