Name of Candidate: Ella Haddad Electorate: Denison Party affiliation: Australian Labor Party Q: Tasmania has recently experienced a number of influenza related deaths in aged care facilities. What is your view in relation to compulsory flu vaccinations (except where there is a valid medical reason not to) for all aged care residents and staff, and introducing appropriate controls relating to visitors where there is a health risk? Do you support priority funding for such an initiative? Yes, I support funding for compulsory flu vaccinations (unless it is unsafe to do so for medical or other reasons) for residents and staff of aged care facilities. Q: As Tasmanians age, they tend to take a mix of medications that may interact and result in less than optimal health outcomes for the individual. This may also incur high costs for both the individual and government, such as through additional visits to doctors and hospitals. Would you support funding for a statewide peer education program to raise awareness among older Tasmanians of: a) the safe use of medicines; b) the changing effects of medication as you get older; c) the importance of medication reviews; d) free services available through pharmacies; and e) opportunities for open discussions with GP's about their medications? Yes. I feel very strongly about increasing health literacy in all cohorts of our population. This must go hand in hand with educational programs for patients and medical professionals to make sure people the information they need, when they need it. Q: Falls are a major and preventable contributor to reduced physical activity and earlier death for older Tasmanians. Falls also result in higher health costs for the community. Would you support the provision of funding for programs, to be delivered by appropriate fitness studios that focus on building muscle strength, reducing falls risk and maintaining mobility for older Tasmanians? Yes. I know fitness industry workers who work specifically in aged care homes building muscle strength to prevent falls and increase mobility. Information on the importance of muscle strength as we age should also form part of health literacy and educational programs in the community. Q: Eating well is critical for older Tasmanians. A well-structured, age-appropriate diet is a strong contributor to good physical and mental health. The provision of nutritional advice and assistance in recipe planning and identifying appropriate seasonally based shopping strategies can considerably improve well-being at a low cost. Would you support funding for Councils and/or community organisations to trial a healthy eating program in a selected range of local communities across the State, particularly those that are identified as currently having poorer access to a range of quality food ingredients? I know of some existing funded programs delivering this kind of information through neighbourhood houses and other community organisations. I support continuing this kind of educational program in the community. In particular, it is important that people who are on low incomes are equipped with skills to shop for in season produce, and to be able to cook healthy meals on a low budget. Q: Older Tasmanians are at risk of becoming isolated and suffering the mental health impacts of such isolation. Do you support the provision of improved mental health
resources within our local communities through the creation of central health hubs that focus on an holistic approach to individual care delivered by a range of relevant health professionals? I absolutely support better wrap around health and community services that focus on the mental, physical and social health of individuals rather than treating each in separate silos. I would need to know more about your suggestion of central health hubs as there are already many 'one door' type services funded in Tasmania and it would be confusing to create another new one without a robust strategy to explain the detail. I would be interested in discussing this further with you and other organisations with an interest. Q: Increasingly, information is being provided by Government, businesses and community organisations via the internet and on mobile platforms. It is recognised that many older Tasmanians are digitally excluded in terms of access, affordability and digital skill. Would you support funding to extend both formal and informal programs aimed at improving the skills of older Tasmanians to access and utilise digital technologies? Yes. It is clear Tasmania is one of the most 'digitally excluded' parts of the country, and older people are more likely to fall into this category. Q: Diversity has been an ongoing strength for the Australian community. A key part of this diversity has been the intergenerational transfer of learnings and cultural understandings. COTA believes that bringing generations together, formally and informally, can deliver positive social outcomes for all. What would be your view on funding a series of trials across Tasmania that aim to improve cultural awareness and learnings between the generations, using a trained facilitator? Would you support the development of resources to facilitate such a program? I would love to hear more about this. Being from a big family (with ages ranging from 1 to 93 years), I certainly recognise the benefit of learning from all generations. It would be great to hear more about your plan. Q: Improved literacy and numeracy skills are critical for engaging in the rapidly changing modern world. Older Tasmanians are frequently being left behind as the world is changing around them. The 26TEN program already supports the improvement of Tasmanian literacy and numeracy levels, but more needs to be done. Would you support increased funding to 26TEN so it can engage more widely with older Tasmanians and link them to this program and other support services? Would you support creating more opportunities for older Tasmanians to become 26TEN volunteers so they can share their journey with others? Would you support increased resources for vocational training to allow older Tasmanians to better prepare themselves for the workforce challenges they face? I think anything that improves on our literacy levels in Tasmania would be extremely positive. I am aware we have some of the highest rates of illiteracy and low literacy in Australia, and older people would form part of this cohort. Increased support would definitely be beneficial Q: Many older Tasmanians report age discrimination when seeking either employment or employment advancement. Do you support priority being given to the creation of recruitment and retention policies within the Government and Parliament to ensure that older workers are not discriminated against? Yes, and I believe age discrimination is creeping in at younger and younger ages!
Q: Tasmania s workers compensation scheme imposes additional requirements upon older workers, where they have an open ended entitlement to work and are not subject to any compulsory retirement provisions. Would you support the removal of the age discriminatory elements of the current Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Act so that the workers compensation entitlements for all workers match their entitlement to work and are not arbitrarily constrained by legislation once they reach a certain age? This sounds fair and something that should be supported. I would like to hear more about the current rules and how they need change. Q: Transport is a critical issue for communities across Tasmania, particularly among older Tasmanians. Access to required transport services is very important, particularly in meeting the last mile needs of those who are distant from an existing service or have mobility issues. Will you give priority to implementing changes to transport services that focus on those within our community who suffer most from transport disadvantage to ensure they can more effectively engage in their communities? I support better access to public transport including more flexible timetables. I am aware the recent (2016?) changes to bus timetables caused difficulties for many older Tasmanians. I am also excited about Labor's commitment to build a light rail facility between Hobart and Brighton. I believe this would be of benefit to the whole community, including opening up more areas for residential development. Q: Volunteers provide many important services for older Tasmanians. In turn, many older Tasmanians also volunteer. Without the efforts of volunteers, many services that communities across Tasmania take for granted would not exist, or if required by Government, would require significantly greater funding than is currently provided. Will you be a champion for volunteering? Will you ensure that organisations that support volunteering efforts receive a funding stream that is appropriately indexed so they are able to effectively provide services to the wider community? Yes. Volunteering has always been an important part of my life. I have served on the boards of several Tasmanian CSOs including Womens' Health Tasmania (chair), TasCAHRD, TasCOSS and TasDeaf (secretary). I know that many community organisations would not survive without their volunteer base, and volunteering also offers so much opportunity for mutual learning. I also support indexation being extended to non DHHS funded CSOs. Q: Elder abuse takes many different forms ranging from physical and psychological harm through to taking financial advantage (including via targeted on-line fraud) of older Tasmanians. The recent Australian Law Reform Commission into protecting the rights of older Australians from abuse [https://www.alrc.gov.au/publications/elderabuse-report] provides an opportunity for significant action. Do you support legislating the findings of the Australian Law Reform Commission into protecting the rights of older Australians from abuse, after a period of public consultation and discussion of these important recommendations? Do you support updating of the Tasmanian Government s Elder Abuse Prevention Strategy that expires in 2018? Yes. I think the Elder Abuse Strategy has been well implemented and should be continued. Q: Will you support significantly widening the provision of information relating to safe on-line engagement and scams, including train-the-trainer programs, to allow greater
volunteer engagement in this area? Will you support increasing resources for relevant agencies to investigate and, where possible, prosecute, on-line scammers? Yes Q:Many older Tasmanians rely on low, fixed incomes. They do not have the expenditure flexibility of the average household and their exposure to a wide range of essential expenditures (power, gas, water, transport, rates, insurances, rent, healthcare etc.) are largely unavoidable, even when attempts are made to minimise consumption. Government concessions and support payments, where they are indexed, tend to be indexed by the CPI. However, the effective CPI for older, lower income households tends to be much higher given the dominance of the above expenditures within expenditure patterns. Will you support the development of indexing arrangements for eligible older persons that better reflect the actual rate of price increase they face? Such an indexation arrangement would necessarily have the CPI as the minimum rate of indexation. I would need to know more about the effect of this and how it would work, it appears to be a sound proposal. Q: The wage gap and irregular work patterns experienced by women as they raise a family and take on other caring responsibilities leaves them particularly vulnerable to financial insecurity. Will you support the introduction of a trial across Tasmanian regions that aims to assist women to be better financially prepared for later life, and identify strategies they can adopt at various stages during their life to be more financially secure? Yes this sounds like a great idea and definitely something I would support. As a woman who took (albeit brief) times out of the workforce with kids and then spent six years as a single parent, I understand firsthand the financial impact this has had on me already and is likely to have as I get older. Q: With rapid increases in house prices, more older Tasmanians are experiencing housing stress. Will you support the investigation and implementation of improved housing arrangements for vulnerable older Tasmanians? Will you support innovative models of housing for older Tasmanians that improve the ability for them to live independently for longer? Will you seek the implementation of improved rent assistance schemes for eligible older Tasmanians? As older Tasmanians seek to right-size their living arrangements, will you support rebates for all State taxes applied when moving residences, together with assistance to qualifying older Tasmanians for their legal and agent costs, where the new residence is of a smaller land and/or floor area? I agree more support is needed for older people to live at home longer. I would be interested in hearing more about your plans in this area. I have a grandmother who is 93 and still lives independently at home, and is able to do so with support from community services and family; however I know not all families are so lucky. I know many older people who struggle financially as they get older, leave the workforce and / or one partner dies. Seeing what help can be given to people who experience these pressures as they age would be of benefit. Q: We all eventually die. It is important we all have the option of a dignified death in a safe and secure environment. End of life planning is critical to permitting a dignified death. Do you support improving existing legislation relating to wills, powers of attorney, advanced care directives and other relevant end of life documents, including
the creation of a register of such documents so that relevant professionals involved in the care and support of older Tasmanians have access to the express intentions of their clients? Do you support extending the provision of palliative care facilities across Tasmania to ensure that loved ones can readily support those undergoing palliative care? Do you support older Tasmanians, under closely sanctioned guidelines and appropriate medical and psychological advice, being able to have control over their own death where palliative care is proving ineffective in relieving pain and suffering? I support adults having the autonomy to make decisions about their own health care throughout their life. To me, the logical extension to this is supporting the choice to die with dignity. If elected, I would support a reintroduced dying with dignity bill with appropriate safeguards for patients. I also support better awareness of and support for end of life planning. Q: Tasmania s anti-discrimination legislation contains specific provisions that exempt other pieces of State legislation from operation where that legislation specifically permits discrimination (section 24). The Anti-Discrimination Act 1988 also includes specific reference to areas that are exempt from the operation of the Act. Would you support the amendment of section 24 to remove the ability of the State Government to apply age discriminatory provisions within legislation. This will ensure that ANY exemptions from the Act relating to age would be specifically detailed under Division 3 of Part 5 of the Act as an extension to the existing list. I would love to know more about this proposal and would welcome the opportunity to discuss. Q: Do you support on-going indexed funding for COTA Tasmania, as the peak body within Tasmania representing older people, to deliver its critical programs, maintain an advocacy role and work with Government to implement the Government s priorities for older Tasmanians? Yes. I support indexation being extended to non DHHS funded organisations such as COTA. Q: Are there any other issues affecting older Tasmanians that you think the next Tasmanian Government should address as a priority, which have not be raised above? It isn't so much a state issue, but the rising costs of, and variability in quality care at aged care facilities is of concern to me. Q: Can you please highlight the top 6 issues, based on your responses to the above questions, which an incoming Government should address to ensure the ongoing well-being of older Tasmanians and support them to contribute effectively to Tasmania?