Page 1856 - Week 09 - Thursday, 19 October 1989
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policies drawn up about eight months ago, I especially honour Joan Kellett, a member of our executive, for her work and leadership in these matters. She was then our spokesperson on the ageing and had a special role there.
I now ask both the Government and all members of the Assembly to act in concert to implement the 60 recommendations of the report. It is only a coincidence that there are 60 recommendations; this has nothing to do with anyone's age in this Assembly. The number of recommendations may, at first sight, seem excessive. There is no doubt, however, that many matters relating to the needs of the ageing must be addressed urgently and other matters gradually dealt with in terms of a five-year plan.
At this stage I point out that we had an excellent administration for many years; but we now have self-government. I am not criticising the previous administration at all, but at long last we have a parliament that is addressing this most urgent issue, and this surely is one of the justifications for our existence. The Rally will continue to press for action on all of these recommendations. The report will be worth nothing if it merely lies on the table.
Obviously, there are some priorities in the recommendations. In writing our statements this morning, we have not consulted each other, and it is interesting to see the ways in which we coincide in what we think are the priorities. The Rally stresses, for example, the need for a convalescent facility and a hospice. These could be either self-standing or attached to a hospital, and we commend those matters very much to those concerned, especially to Mr Berry.
The Rally very strongly endorses proposals for extending concessions, including travel concessions, to the ageing along the lines, for example, of what is done in Western Australia or New South Wales. In particular, we need to bring levels of travel concessions into line with those of our neighbours in New South Wales. Our Assembly committee will be monitoring that matter very closely. Here again, echoing Mr Wood's comment, I say that it is a special pleasure to be involved with this report because we do not come to the end of the line with the report; our committee continues, and the five of us will continue to monitor what goes on and to have a concern for it as long as we are in this place. In the case of my very young colleagues, Carmel Maher and Robyn Nolan, who are half my age, I hope it will be many years before they are forced to retire at 70, 75 or 80, whatever the case may be.
One could go on selecting item after item. There is one particular concern, however, to be stressed, and it has already been stressed. This is the growing incidence of and problems related to dementia. The five of us could not have known the fullness of that dilemma, could we? We commend that our colleagues come to terms with this; it is
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