Ms THEOPHANOUS (Northcote) (17:04): (5942) My adjournment is to the Minister for Disability, Ageing and Carers. I ask: will the minister join me and the local seniors in Northcote for a morning tea with the opportunity to hear from older residents and speak to them about our government’s work to support seniors? My community is home to many wonderful groups who are connecting our seniors, from U3A Darebin to the Greek, Italian and Chinese elderly citizens clubs to our local Lions and the Irish Australian Support and Resource Bureau just down the street from my office. They have all done an incredible amount to support our older residents through what has been an incredibly challenging period.
For many the social isolation has been really hard, and getting access to health advice and social support has been made more difficult. With over 16 per cent of the electorate over 60 years of age and many born overseas, Northcote is home to a diverse mix of multicultural seniors who speak many different languages. From Greeks to Italians to Arabic speakers to Vietnamese, the world they live in now may be very different to the world they grew up in. We see the challenges that some of our parents and grandparents face each and every day, whether it be communicating at the bank, topping up their Myki or trying to order a taxi. Many concepts are foreign concepts, like the use of QR codes or checking exposure sites or putting on a mask. In many ways the adjustments they have had to make for the pandemic have been even more confronting. Now more than ever we need to be there for them, and I have been pleased to see many of our local organisations receive grants to assist in their outreach to seniors, providing information and engaging them to build stronger connections and friendships. The coronavirus support for multicultural seniors grants have been extremely welcome, as have the multicultural seniors support grants and the supporting carers locally grants.
It is our duty to ensure that the older members of our community are cared for and supported and made to know that they are a valued part of our society. I have been blessed to learn a great many things from the lives and perspectives of my grandparents, whose village life in Cyprus was hugely different from my own but whose courage and strength continue to inspire me, so I want to take the opportunity to encourage all of us to reach out to the seniors in our lives. If you have an older neighbour or a friend or a loved one, give them a call, invite them out for a cuppa and ask them what they think about the world. I look forward to welcoming the minister to hear the perspectives of seniors in the inner north.
