Steve Irons (Swan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is a bit of deja vu for me to be following the member for Page, because I followed her maiden speech with my maiden speech. A lot of water has gone under the bridge since then. It is good to see she has got her voice back. I look forward to the maiden speech next week of the new member for Longman, who sits next to me in the House.

I rise this evening to brief the House on the progress of my campaign to protect the Langford and Districts Senior Citizens and Retired Persons Club from a new council lease payment. By way of background for interested members, the Langford Senior Citizens Club is a place for seniors to get together and take part in shared activities, including regular bingo sessions. Langford itself has a significant retired community made up of good and genuine people who have made a positive contribution to society throughout their lives. I have visited the club on several occasions and I must say that it is an uplifting and happy social club that provides a good service to the community and it is a club that is highly valued by the local community.

Many local councils, Mr Deputy Speaker—and I am sure this would be the same in your electorate of Fisher—show respect for our older community by making seniors clubs and organisations exempt from lease payments on their facilities. Councils in my electorate that deserve particular credit for this include the City of Canning, City of South Perth and City of Belmont. These arrangements are good for the clubs, good for seniors and good for the community. Most ratepayers do not mind their rates being used to support youth and seniors. Lease payments make it difficult for seniors clubs to stay afloat without putting membership fees up, which would make membership impossible for seniors doing it tough. At a time when society is worried about seniors being isolated we should be doing everything we can to make it easier for seniors to be a part of the community.

For years this principle has extended to the Langford Senior Citizens Club, and the City of Gosnells should be congratulated for this. During this time the club has been able to flourish, providing a great service to the community. However, just a few months ago staff at the City of Gosnells council contacted the Langford Senior Citizens Club with plans to change this arrangement and charge the Langford and Districts Senior Citizens and Retired Persons Club lease payments. The proposed charges were quite substantial, with council staff suggesting two options. Option 1 was a lease including outgoings, in which cleaning is included. The proposed fees were estimated at $1,575 for the first year going up to $6,300 in year 4. Option 2 was based on an hourly charge with a share base facility, starting with a year 1 cost of $1,458 and going up to $2,916 in year 4. But the sharing factor made it virtually impossible for them to keep their club running.

As you can probably imagine this caused great distress to the organisers of the club and they contacted me for assistance. The organisers have managed to keep membership down to just $7 a year, making it accessible to most people in the community, many of whom survive solely on pension payments. After meeting with the treasurer, Myra Cunningham, it became clear that they could not afford to pay proposed lease payments that would total $1,500 in the first year and rise steeply in subsequent years. It looked likely that, should Langford Senior Citizens Club be forced to meet these payments, they would have to disband. This would of course be devastating for the Langford community. As a response, I launched a petition in the Langford community against the proposals and there has been a fantastic response from local residents with hundreds signing and returning forms to my office. It was particularly pleasing to receive signatures from young an old alike, demonstrating that the club is highly valued by the entire community. I would like to thank all residents for their support.

I used the results of this petition in a letter to City of Gosnells councillors ahead of their vote on the staff recommendations last Tuesday and I am pleased to advise the House that community will was heard, with councillors voting against the proposed changes and deciding instead to refer the item back for further consideration. This is certainly a reprieve for the Langford Senior Citizens Club and I thank the councillors for the clear thinking and process they showed last Tuesday. The Langford Senior Citizens Club is happy with this short-term success, although it is important for us to continue to be vigilant as council staff reconsider their options. It is likely they will sit down with the club and negotiate, and I am happy to provide the senior citizens with support if and when this happens.

In closing, our seniors, who have contributed so much to our society over their lifetimes, should be treated with compassion and respect by local councils. Many councils do, and they deserve credit for it. I would like to congratulate the City of Gosnells council for listening to the people and rejecting moves to impose impossible payments on the Langford and Districts Senior Citizens and Retired Persons Club.