Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / COTA NT CEO Sue Shearer is calling on the NT Government to boost the seniors recognition card scheme by $100 per person and index it to CPI

Transcript

COTA NT CEO Sue Shearer is calling on the NT Government to boost the seniors recognition card scheme by $100 per person and index it to CPI · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Joining me in the studio from the Council of the
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Aging here in the Northern Territory. The CEO suit sheer
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Uncle Boarding Sue, good.
• 0:06
  Speaker 2: Morning, Katie. Is it's like Pitchtree, isn't it.
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: Everyone's in and out, very busy. You've got to keep
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: me out of trouble somehow, So.
• 0:14
  Speaker 2: I would agree with that, Katie from memory, we could
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: probably both get in too much trouble exactly now.
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: So we know that there is going to be a
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: three point seven percent increase in the pension. It is
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: obviously a welcome relief for senior territories. But I'm going
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: to be blunt here. It's botherall.
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: It's a pittance. Yes, you've took the words right out
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: of my mouth, as meatloafs would say, but it's just
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: it is just it is. Seriously, it is a pittance.
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: As we said before, would it buy a decent piece
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: of steak, No, it wouldn't. It might be one lamb chop,
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: but it is just you know, they did four percent
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: last September and three point seven but with the cost
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: of living for people on a lower income or set income,
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: it's nothing. And then the obviously the more for intossistiness
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: has gone Oh, excuse me, five dollars sixty a week?
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: Is that it? Yeah? Is that it?
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: So it's one hundred and fifty seven a fortnight. And
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: as we spoke about before, in the rental market as well,
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: people who are on a set income or low income
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: five hundred dollars a week and they get an extra
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: fifty seven dollars a fortnight, and their pensions, oh excuse me,
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: a thousand. Oh, that might give them an extra ten
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: dollars to buy nothing.
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: Yeah, And this is the thing. So last week we
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: were actually talking to a number of people who got
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: in contact with us because that had new smart meters
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: installed as part of Power and Water's roll at And
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: what it had meant is that they've had quite big
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: increases to their power bills. So I just think, you know,
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: when you're already struggling with the cost of living, then
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: when something like that is added on top, it's a
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: huge kick in the guts.
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: I had actually asked Power and Water to get back
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: to me about those smart meters, just to double check.
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: Sometimes when there's a change in the systems and things
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: like that, they forget to put the concessions on. So
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: I have asked them just out of curiosity to double
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: check whether the concessions are coming off the people who
• 2:11
  Speaker 2: are eligible for them, because I know sometimes with rates
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: and things like that, in a new year and the
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: rates go out, they forget to put the concessions on there.
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: So I just you know how you have those begin
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: authought kiss, I just thought I'll just ask Para and
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: Water just to double check. They haven't come back to
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: me yet. It's just just an idea that maybe that's
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: the reason, because I can't see any other reason for
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: the increase, to be honest.
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: Yeah, for some people, it seems like an enormous.
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: Impress it is, and it's just again it's just another
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: added pressure which people don't need.
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: So last time you're on the show, you had mentioned
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: this to us that it's time for the Northern Territory
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: government to index the Senior's Recognition Scheme to CPI. So
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: tell us again exactly what you're asking for here.
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: We're asking for a minimum of one hundred dollars to
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: go on when the cards are released in July August
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: this year. The five hundred dollars be put up to
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: six hundred dollars, and there's over twenty thousand seniors over
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: sixty five who'd be eligible for this. So at a
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: cost of two million dollars, it's cheaper than moving the library.
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: I mean, this would benefit twenty thousand seniors, so obviously
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: we probably want more, but we'll start with that. And
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: then they have to index the card because it hasn't
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: changed in at least four years. So that's an indictment
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: really on the Anti government that everywhere else you get
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: a CPI increase, even as I said, the pittance that
• 3:41
  Speaker 2: comes with the federal pension is indexed, where ka this
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: is not index and we will we call for the
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: Anti government to really make twenty thousand seniors in the
• 3:52
  Speaker 2: Northern Territory very very happy. Have they?
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: Has the Northern Territory government sat down with you on
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: this one? Because cost of living? I would say crime
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: and cost of living are the biggest issues for Territorians
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: right now.
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: There are the biggest issues. We have written wrote to
• 4:07
  Speaker 2: the previous Chief minister and no not now written to
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: another Chief minister.
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: Not not so.
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: Minister. Seniors really didn't receive a reply. I think you know,
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: I know things that we all know, things the type
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: we all know. But budgets are type. But for heaven's sakes,
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: if contemplating moving a library at three four million for
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: I don't know how many people, when you can actually
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: bring a smile to seniors who have already contributed to
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: the Northern churchary socially and economically, and we want to
• 4:42
  Speaker 2: keep them here because again they're a valuable asset to
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: the Northern Churchy. They the amount of hours they do
• 4:48
  Speaker 2: in babysitting, in holidays and then volunteering as well. Do
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: we really want to lose some more because you know
• 4:55
  Speaker 2: they will go with the crime rate as well. But however,
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: let's make people happy. Isn't that difficult, Katie? Two million
• 5:02
  Speaker 2: bucks out of a budget really to make twenty thousand
• 5:06
  Speaker 2: people give them some sense of relief, that's all we're
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: asking for.
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: Well, sir, look, I know not everybody will agree with me,
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: but I would like to see you this go up.
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: I think that investing in our seniors is money well spent.
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: I also think that investing in our police force to
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: make sure we've got enough of them is money well spent,
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: and our frontline workers. So I would prefer to see
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: money invested into things like that than some of the
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: other stuff that we've got around the place.
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: I entirely, excuse me, entirely agree with you. I mean,
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: let's look after our core business first, and obviously that's health,
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: justice and education, and so that's the government's core business.
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: If you can't get that right, there's something on. The
• 5:46
  Speaker 2: next core business obviously is the community. So let's look
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: after the communities. I said before, I couldn't think of
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: anything better than a nice early Christmas presence for seeing
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: is that they get an extra hundred dollars bring it
• 5:57
  Speaker 2: up to six hundred dollars on the ntc IS recognition
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: card scheme.
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: So just tell us when exactly what year was this
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: scheme originally? You know, when did it originally come out?
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: Which won the CPI the CPI, sorry that the Senior's
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: recognition schemes.
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: So there was a review down in twenty seventeen, you recall,
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: because there was a hell of a lot of misuse
• 6:21
  Speaker 2: and fraud. There was just an anti concession scheme. So
• 6:25
  Speaker 2: it was revamped and then it was revamped in twenty eighteen.
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: And it hasn't hasn't.
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: Had an increase at all to the five hundred dollars,
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: none what soever.
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: So some out there listening will be thinking to themselves,
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: Hang on, Cancene, is really complain about this. I mean,
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: it's five hundred dollars for nothing. What would you say
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: to them.
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: I'd say, yeah, well it's not actually nothing. It's called
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: a recognition scheme. That's what it's called a recognition schemes.
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: I said before, These scenes have already contributed to the
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: economic growth of the Northern Turty and the social growth
• 6:58
  Speaker 2: of the Northern Turkey, and they can continue to do
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: so all the time. Let's face it, they're not the
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: ones committing the crime. So really, when all's said and done,
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: as I said, it's a recognition scheme and we just
• 7:11
  Speaker 2: have to actually be very sensible about it. That's why
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: we've only asked for one hundred dollars at two million
• 7:16
  Speaker 2: dollars for twenty thousand seniors. So really, what's the problem.
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: Well, Sue Shara, I always appreciate your time, and I
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: was having a giggle before when you said meat life
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: took the words right out of my mouth. He's lined
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: up here to play a little bit later, so I'll
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: have to play it for you ladies. Are you sure
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: we'll be meat love it love Sue Sharer. Always good
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: to speak with you. Thanks so much for your time,
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: pleasure Katy Season, Thank you