Page 3047 - Week 08 - Thursday, 15 August 2019
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Breastfeeding rooms must work really well. This is crucial for women and their babies’ needs. Breastfeeding room details may sound like a small business to some, but they can make a huge difference to the mothers who want to achieve work and family success. The very process of maintaining feeding and/or pumping upon return to work is a complex, demanding and emotional business. It changes week to week, and sometimes day to day, and can be a make-or-break issue for many mums. We owe it to the mothers returning to work to make this as smooth as possible from an employer perspective.
The Canberra Liberals believe that all women should be empowered to fully participate and succeed in their family, community and economic aspirations. We will continue to fight for this outcome, practically and genuinely. I encourage the minister to be strong and to make more improvements for women to be able to achieve their aspirations for their lives here in the ACT.
MR RAMSAY (Ginninderra—Attorney-General, Minister for the Arts and Cultural Events, Minister for Building Quality Improvement, Minister for Business and Regulatory Services, Minister for Government Services and Procurement and Minister for Seniors and Veterans) (4.53): I am pleased to speak in this section of the appropriation bill debate in relation to the government’s support for seniors. Older Canberrans make a huge contribution to the life of this city. They do so through their work, through their roles as carers, through volunteering and by participating on many boards and committees.
According to census data in 2016, 12½ per cent of Canberrans are aged 65 and over. That is around 50,000 people, but we know this number has continued to grow since that census. As our city expands, and as the number of older Canberrans increases, the ACT government is working to ensure that our city provides the support services, the infrastructure, the environment and the culture that enables our seniors to continue to lead rich, happy and healthy lives.
Budgets show a government’s priorities, and in this budget we have a variety of measures across many portfolios that are specifically designed to assist our older Canberrans. Our goal is to ensure that Canberra continues to grow as an age-friendly city. An age-friendly city is one that provides opportunities for full social participation and for health and safety to be maintained so that quality of life is enhanced for people as they age.
To achieve this, the government has commenced the process of developing an age-friendly city plan for Canberra. This plan will set out how we will ensure that Canberra remains one of the best places to be a senior Australian. The plan will be developed in partnership with my Ministerial Advisory Council on Ageing and will draw on the views of senior Canberrans from right across the territory. The first consultation forum to help to develop that plan was held on 25 July, and I will continue to meet with community members to hear their thoughts on our age-friendly vision. The plan will be finalised and released in early 2020.
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