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What we've been up to . . . August 2006 Bill Benson worked with Canberra Centrelink to ensure better communication with grandparents at local level about exemptions under Centrelink guidelines relating to the new back-to-work legislation. Grandparents must make an appointment with, and go direct to, the social worker for assessment. There has been action from our letter to Premier Beattie asking for some sort of across-government and stakeholder forum, to bring together the fragmented approach to local transport across the state. Val met with a cross-section of transport public servants responsible for a variety of projects and discussed the fragmented approach and the problems of an ageing public. OPSO has been invited to run a stakeholder forum for the Department of Transport. As a result of the Speakout on ‘what the older generations want from nursing homes and hostels in the future’, a sub-committee is working on submissions to both government and universities. QUT have given OPSO three groups of students to assist in research in order to pull this together. Dr Mary Daly and Val French met with representatives from the Australasian Centre on Ageing to plan a closer working relationship between the senior sector and the university in relation to research. Val spoke about positive ageing on 2UE Sydney. Susan Teerds did the same at Police Minister Judy Spence’s community meeting. Val did a series of fun debates – Five Good Reasons – for five weeks on the ABC and another fun broadcast on their morning show. She also took part in a debate on ageing at Trinder Park Retirement Village – between older people and the local high school - “That youth is wasted on the young”. The debate was broadcast on local radio. Val attended the sector liaison meeting at the Department of Communities where the main discussion was a suggestion from all that the sector – which is made up of the presidents and chairs of the major seniors’ organisations - becomes an advisory voice for the department. Seniors Week saw some OPSO members gallantly walking the five kilometres at the Sunday event at Southbank, where OPSO also had a display. OPSO’s contribution to Seniors’ Week was to assist in the organisation of a morning tea which brought together all the different ethnic groups on the south side of Brisbane, where each group presented musical items and their special food for morning tea. OPSO also held an intergenerational launch of the policies of four mock political parties – one from Churchie, one from Loretto College, one from Brisbane State High and one from OPSO. The highlight was cross questioning by team members and the audience of each speaker. This intergenerational event was a tremendous success and will undoubtedly lead to more of this kind next year. The event was organised by Vice President Tony Townsend. A follow-up was a broadcast by two OPSO members and two of the Churchie team – described by many as one of the best broadcasts ever. On the Friday of Seniors’ Week, Channel 10 invited Val to become a journalist for the day with a news story on the failure to date of political parties to announce senior policies. She interviewed Maida Lilley on health, Pixie Annat on population growth problems and Nixon Baker on water – then went to Mt-Cootha to do the links and a final piece to camera. Channel 10 reported they received phone calls of approval after the broadcast. At the end of the month Val and Maida drove to Bundaberg, to the U3A Young at Heart Conference, where Val spoke on transport and nursing homes and included a Speakout on both. – Val French, |
