Teresa Gambaro (Petrie, Liberal Party, Parliamentary Secretary Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

Today I would like to highlight the fantastic work of two local community organisations that are reaching out to vulnerable members of our Petrie community. As members would be aware, there are sections of our community, particularly the elderly, which are becoming increasingly isolated in society. We too often see terrible media reports of elderly people who have passed away not being discovered in their homes sometimes for weeks and sometimes, even worse, for months.

It is a real tragedy and a sad reflection on our community life, particularly in this modern society, that these deaths occur and are not discovered. Through the innovative Telecross program, which is run as a pilot in Queensland by the Australian Red Cross, such tragedies can be averted by a phone call of a few minutes a day of a volunteer’s time. What they do is focus on calling the elderly. They provide daily reassurance to people who are frail, aged or, particularly, younger people with a disability who live alone and are socially or physically isolated and medically at risk.

The calls are made by volunteers each morning at the same time, as decided by the client. It can be done from the volunteer’s home, workplace or even on the commute between the two. Volunteers also have the option of making calls to many clients through a Telecross base centre. Secondly, in the event that the client cannot be contacted, emergency procedures are activated by Telecross. This is done 365 days of the year.

The concept originally started in South Australia in 1970 and was first piloted in Queensland in 1996. At the end of last year, it was operating in Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Rockhampton, Yeppoon, Beaudesert, Darling Downs and the Sunshine Coast. What is really fantastic about this program is that it is simple. It is just a phone call. I had discussions with the Pharmacy Guild of Queensland just before the last election, and they agreed that they would come on board and provide many of their staff as volunteers.

I am working actively at the moment within government to try to have this program extended, because it can save the lives of many elderly people. I congratulate the Red Cross. I will continue to work with them to make sure that they have continued support for this very valuable program well into the future. I want to thank Robert Tickner and Greg Goebel, from Queensland, for their assistance to date. I will do all that I can to make sure that we develop this fantastic program right across Australia. It is a truly deserving program that will help many in their homes not to feel socially isolated. I also want to congratulate the Redcliffe community bus association for the work that they do in providing regular social outings for the elderly. I am committed to working with them more fully to try to find a way to fund their ageing bus fleet. I thank them for their great work.

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