Elder Abuse

Ms BEDFORD (Florey) (15:13): My question is to the Minister for Ageing. Minister, what is the government doing to increase community awareness and understanding of elder abuse?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON (Ramsay—Minister for Communities and Social Inclusion, Minister for Social Housing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Youth, Minister for Volunteers) (15:13): Thank you, Mr Speaker, and I thank the member for this question. Today is a special day for all of us who are committed to the rights and wellbeing of older people. Today the Aged Rights Advocacy Service hosted a conference to observe the UN's World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, bringing visibility to the physical, psychological, emotional, sexual and financial abuse experienced by older people.

It was my pleasure to attend this conference and engage with representatives from government agencies, the ageing industry and academia to raise awareness about identified strategies to prevent elder abuse within our community. I congratulate the Aged Rights Advocacy Service on the success of this conference, its 10^th conference on this issue. It will provide a new perspective on a range of practices to prevent risk and vulnerability of older people.

I am pleased to advise the house that I have launched the state government's action plan: Strategy to safeguard the rights of older South Australians. The government believes that elder abuse can be prevented when the community works together. That is why the action plan was developed through a close and ongoing partnership with the non-government sector, peak bodies associated with ageing, experts from our universities, representatives from the South Australian Aboriginal community and members of our migrant communities.

An expert steering committee shaped the action plan's seven-year time frame and guided each stage of the development. I sincerely thank them for their valuable contribution. The action plan aims to increase community awareness and understanding of elder abuse, an act that causes deliberate or unintentional harm to an older person, carried out by someone the older person knows or trusts, such as a family member, friend or carer. The United Nations Principles for Older Persons states that, 'older persons should be able to live in dignity and be free of exploitation and physical and mental abuse.'

The state government action plan will address elder abuse through the following initiatives: a public awareness campaign, including the development of a website as a central source of information, research and tools; the development of a state government policy outlining the role of government workers in responding to elder abuse; and, ARAS will pilot a telephone service and helpline to provide a direct community contact point that will also link callers with pathways, services and supports.

South Australians can look forward to more years of life than people could expect in previous eras. The state government is committed to providing support and services that will increase the resilience and wellbeing of older people.