General Meeting March 2014

13 Mar 2014

HAAG General Meeting                                                                                            

Summary of Member Recommendations about the HAAG Election Platform

  • The Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) needs improving but there are concerns that focussing on strengthening the RTA in the HAAG campaign will take the focus away from public housing as a more suitable option for older people on a fixed income.
  • The election platform should look specifically at how government cuts are impacting on older people. Particularly how any future cuts to the homelessness sector will impact on older people who are at risk of homelessness as well as the sector in general.
  • The link between Home Care, Aged Care and Housing should be raised as part of the election platform. Perhaps local government should be a focal point as local government is responsible for Home and Community Care (HACC) services.
  • The election platform should include concerns about privatisation generally and the importance of keeping public assets public.
  • Planning concerns: Older person’s housing needs to be close to public transport so that people who don’t drive can get around.
  • The importance of older persons’ housing being located close to doctors, hospitals and other infrastructure was also noted.
  • The election platform should include an opposition to selling off public housing.

Summary of Suggested Campaign Strategies

  • Suggested that we go out and make our campaign public, knock on doors etc. as making politicians and the public aware of the issues is essential to creating change.
  • Providing evidence to back up our election platform is important for convincing the government to act, and the student report provides some of this evidence.
  • Collective action- one single platform instead of a number of smaller groups might be more effective. Additionally, using a public figure to champion our cause was also suggested.
  • It was suggested that all members send the student report to their local MP: Please call HAAG on 9654 7389 if you would like a copy to send out.
  • Further actions based on these recommendations will be sent out via the next HAAG newsletter.

The next General Meeting is on the 12th of June 2014