Grievance Debate

Seniors Forum

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON (Ramsay) (15:07): I rise today to speak about a positive ageing, health and wellbeing seniors forum that was held in the electorate of Ramsay on Wednesday 31 October. I was very pleased to co-host this seniors forum alongside my colleague Mr Blair Boyer, the member for Wright, at the Salisbury Bowling Club, the home of the Orange Bowl, which is a fabulous local venue. It is a very happy club because they have been provided with some shade for a permanent structure through our sport facilities grants.

This was the seventh seniors forum I have hosted as the member for Ramsay. It was a packed-out event, proving to be so popular that there was a waiting list for people wanting to come to our seniors forum. They loved it. I was delighted to see some familiar faces who have attended these forms in the past, as well as some new faces who came along. In particular, we had people from the member for Wright's electorate, from Salisbury East, Brahma Lodge and Gulfview Heights.

In my electorate of Ramsay, approximately one-quarter of the population is over 65 years of age. Seniors are a vitally important component of not only the electorate but our broader community. They play an essential role as consumers, citizens, workers, family members, volunteers, carers, tourists, and the list goes on. I really enjoy hosting the forums, to ensure that the seniors in our communities have the latest information available for their financial, mental, physical and social wellbeing.

We had a number of organisations attend on that day that had stalls, including government departments and service providers. These include COTA (Council on the Ageing); the Northern Respite Care Service, which is part of the Lyell McEwin Volunteer Association; South Australia Police; and the City of Salisbury, which provides home assist services and also runs the very popular Jack Young Centre, which is for seniors in the area. The Department of Human Services were there providing information about concessions. The Catalyst Foundation; Consumer and Business Affairs; Seniors Card; the Penfield Tennis Club; Every Life Matters, which is a suicide prevention network; and Centrelink were in attendance as well.

We heard from several guest speakers on the day, including the Mayor of Salisbury, Gillian Aldridge OAM, who spoke about her personal experience of positive ageing, as well as what the City of Salisbury is doing to create an inclusive community for all.

Bev Galway from the Catalyst Foundation spoke about the services and information they provide to assist with senior wellbeing. The Catalyst Foundation was formerly known as the seniors information service. The organisation changed its name to reflect the growth in its services and the communities that they serve. It is an inclusive, independent and charitable organisation seeking to improve the lives of all South Australians in the areas of ageing, disability, lifestyle, employment, business and learning.

One of the things that I particularly like about the Catalyst Foundation is that they can provide information for people when they are making major decisions in their lives. They do not have any relationships with different residential care companies or retirement homes. What they can do is simply talk you through the facts of what is available and the pros and cons when you are making these decisions. It is wonderful to have them come along and talk about it.

We also had Paul Lemmer from the South Australian Ambulance Service, who is stationed at the very newly opened Parafield ambulance station. He came along to talk about accessibility to health services and how our senior residents can take care of themselves, especially as we move into the hot weather.

The presentations were followed by an open question and answer session, a delicious morning tea prepared by the volunteers at the Salisbury Bowling Club and, lastly, an opportunity to browse the information stalls. The overwhelming feedback from the event was extremely positive. People enjoyed the opportunity to hear the latest information.

I would like to acknowledge the work of my Ramsay team: Cathy, Juan and the new trainee, Maria, and Blair's team: Kristianne, Josh and their new trainee, Tom. It takes a lot of work to get it organised. Special thanks and congratulations to the president of the Salisbury Bowling Club, Geoff Ambler, who was our MC and who was recently named Salisbury Sporting Legend. I thank him for hosting.