Page 1174 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 2 April 2019
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MR RAMSAY: I thank Ms Cheyne for the supplementary question. These sorts of events are excellent opportunities for seniors to remain active and connected members of the community. The Chief Minister’s concert is a great opportunity for our seniors to engage with the arts, to sing along and to listen to the very talented Band of the Royal Military College, Duntroon. Like other initiatives such as Music at Midday, which was again on in the Canberra Theatre today, the Chief Minister’s concert is particularly popular with those in residential aged care facilities and provides an important opportunity to be out and about and connecting with hundreds of other seniors.
We know that the quality of life of all people in the community, including our seniors, is improved when the person is active and a connected member of the community. The concert is just one of the opportunities that we provide to do this. The seniors expo goes even further, presenting opportunities to meet with new groups and find new activities, to try to open up a whole world of possibilities to remain connected and active in later life. With over 120 exhibitors this year, there was truly something for everyone to try, to see or even to taste.
Madam Speaker, you will often hear me say that I believe that the city is at its best when everyone belongs, when everyone is valued and when everyone has the opportunity to participate. The Chief Minister’s concert and the seniors expo provide opportunities for senior Canberrans to do precisely that.
MR PETTERSSON: Can the minister explain why it is important to take the time to recognise seniors during Seniors Week, including in the positive ageing awards?
MR RAMSAY: I thank Mr Pettersson for the supplementary question. While most of Seniors Week is dedicated to things for our senior Canberrans to see and do, the positive ageing awards are just as important. They give us the time to stop and celebrate the many people in the community who provide services for our seniors.
To those who share their knowledge or language and history, to those who set up intergenerational playgroups so that Canberrans young and old can play together and share experiences, to those who run choirs to create an inclusive space for those who are over 55, to those who create groups to support the social inclusion of women in their region, and to those who get seniors to events to allow them to remain socially connected, I pass on congratulations on winning the awards and thank them for their hard work. To the many who were nominated, we also thank them for everything they do to make Canberra a more age-friendly and inclusive city.
I also want to take a moment to thank those who may not have been nominated but who still work to make Canberra an open and inclusive city and a great place for older Canberrans to live. We have so many people who are working to make Canberra an age-friendly city. The positive ageing awards are just one of the ways that we can show appreciation to them. Congratulations again to Emma, Marlene, George, Barrie and to the Seasoned Voices Choir.
Mr Barr: Madam Speaker, all further questions can be placed on the notice paper.
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