Justine Elliot (Richmond, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on a very important initiative, which is Seniors Watch. This initiative has been launched in my electorate of Richmond. Over 20 per cent of the people living in Richmond, and the Richmond electorate, are aged over 65 years. That is obviously a very large proportion of the electorate and one of the highest percentages of that age group in the country. Seniors are a very integral and vibrant part of our community. I feel very fortunate to have such an active community of seniors in Richmond.

Lately, there has been a marked increase in the number of seniors coming forward to tell me about their issues and how the failures of the Howard government have made their lives so much more difficult. Local seniors are telling me how they are feeling under pressure with the rapidly increasing cost of living, particularly as so many seniors are on fixed incomes and finding it very difficult to cope with the increases in so many cost-of-living areas. Local seniors are telling me that the Howard government have gone too far and that the Prime Minister does not understand the pressures that seniors are under and that he is not even listening to them.

I am listening. I believe that seniors built our nation and I know our local seniors deserve so much better. I believe we absolutely need to make sure that our seniors are respected, not forgotten. That is why I launched Seniors Watch on 4 August. Seniors Watch is a community driven initiative that enables seniors to keep me informed of how the federal government policies are affecting them locally. This launch was held at Tweed City Shopping Centre and was well attended by many local seniors. I was very pleased that the shadow Treasurer, the member for Lilley, was able to attend and assist with the launch.

Local seniors raised many issues which they feel have been forgotten by the Howard government, particularly the lack of Commonwealth funded dental care, which is a major issue in the electorate; the lack of aged care places; the lack of EACH and CAPS packages for home care, which are so desperately needed; the increase in health care costs and pharmaceuticals; and skyrocketing petrol prices, which are causing a major impact.

The other issue, of course, is the lack of public transport. Local seniors want to see a restoration of our Casino to Murwillumbah railway line. Recently we saw the New South Wales state government commit $75 million, if the federal government matched that commitment with $75 million. I call on the Prime Minister to match that commitment to secure the future of this line. It is such an important issue for our community. I call on the Prime Minister to stop the buck-passing; it is time to get our train back. That certainly is a major issue for seniors in Richmond.

Another issue is the increase in the cost of living. We are looking at increases in food and telephone costs, which cause major impacts upon our local seniors. As I have said, I believe that seniors built this nation, and I am always here to support them. I will always encourage local seniors to keep contacting me with their concerns. These local seniors feel they have been forgotten, but I will certainly keep listening to them and keep raising their issues here. (Time expired)

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