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Speaker 1: Joining me in the studio from the Council of the

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Speaker 1: Aging here in the Northern Territory. The CEO suit sheer

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Speaker 1: Uncle Boarding Sue, good.

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Speaker 2: Morning, Katie. Is it's like Pitchtree, isn't it.

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Speaker 1: Everyone's in and out, very busy. You've got to keep

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Speaker 1: me out of trouble somehow, So.

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Speaker 2: I would agree with that, Katie from memory, we could

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Speaker 2: probably both get in too much trouble exactly now.

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Speaker 1: So we know that there is going to be a

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Speaker 1: three point seven percent increase in the pension. It is

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Speaker 1: obviously a welcome relief for senior territories. But I'm going

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Speaker 1: to be blunt here. It's botherall.

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Speaker 2: It's a pittance. Yes, you've took the words right out

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Speaker 2: of my mouth, as meatloafs would say, but it's just

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Speaker 2: it is just it is. Seriously, it is a pittance.

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Speaker 2: As we said before, would it buy a decent piece

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Speaker 2: of steak, No, it wouldn't. It might be one lamb chop,

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Speaker 2: but it is just you know, they did four percent

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Speaker 2: last September and three point seven but with the cost

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Speaker 2: of living for people on a lower income or set income,

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Speaker 2: it's nothing. And then the obviously the more for intossistiness

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Speaker 2: has gone Oh, excuse me, five dollars sixty a week?

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Speaker 1: Is that it? Yeah? Is that it?

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Speaker 2: So it's one hundred and fifty seven a fortnight. And

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Speaker 2: as we spoke about before, in the rental market as well,

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Speaker 2: people who are on a set income or low income

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Speaker 2: five hundred dollars a week and they get an extra

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Speaker 2: fifty seven dollars a fortnight, and their pensions, oh excuse me,

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Speaker 2: a thousand. Oh, that might give them an extra ten

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Speaker 2: dollars to buy nothing.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, And this is the thing. So last week we

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Speaker 1: were actually talking to a number of people who got

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Speaker 1: in contact with us because that had new smart meters

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Speaker 1: installed as part of Power and Water's roll at And

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Speaker 1: what it had meant is that they've had quite big

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Speaker 1: increases to their power bills. So I just think, you know,

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Speaker 1: when you're already struggling with the cost of living, then

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Speaker 1: when something like that is added on top, it's a

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Speaker 1: huge kick in the guts.

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Speaker 2: I had actually asked Power and Water to get back

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Speaker 2: to me about those smart meters, just to double check.

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Speaker 2: Sometimes when there's a change in the systems and things

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Speaker 2: like that, they forget to put the concessions on. So

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Speaker 2: I have asked them just out of curiosity to double

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Speaker 2: check whether the concessions are coming off the people who

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Speaker 2: are eligible for them, because I know sometimes with rates

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Speaker 2: and things like that, in a new year and the

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Speaker 2: rates go out, they forget to put the concessions on there.

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Speaker 2: So I just you know how you have those begin

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Speaker 2: authought kiss, I just thought I'll just ask Para and

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Speaker 2: Water just to double check. They haven't come back to

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Speaker 2: me yet. It's just just an idea that maybe that's

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Speaker 2: the reason, because I can't see any other reason for

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Speaker 2: the increase, to be honest.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, for some people, it seems like an enormous.

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Speaker 2: Impress it is, and it's just again it's just another

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Speaker 2: added pressure which people don't need.

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Speaker 1: So last time you're on the show, you had mentioned

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Speaker 1: this to us that it's time for the Northern Territory

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Speaker 1: government to index the Senior's Recognition Scheme to CPI. So

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Speaker 1: tell us again exactly what you're asking for here.

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Speaker 2: We're asking for a minimum of one hundred dollars to

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Speaker 2: go on when the cards are released in July August

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Speaker 2: this year. The five hundred dollars be put up to

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Speaker 2: six hundred dollars, and there's over twenty thousand seniors over

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Speaker 2: sixty five who'd be eligible for this. So at a

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Speaker 2: cost of two million dollars, it's cheaper than moving the library.

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Speaker 2: I mean, this would benefit twenty thousand seniors, so obviously

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Speaker 2: we probably want more, but we'll start with that. And

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Speaker 2: then they have to index the card because it hasn't

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Speaker 2: changed in at least four years. So that's an indictment

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Speaker 2: really on the Anti government that everywhere else you get

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Speaker 2: a CPI increase, even as I said, the pittance that

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Speaker 2: comes with the federal pension is indexed, where ka this

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Speaker 2: is not index and we will we call for the

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Speaker 2: Anti government to really make twenty thousand seniors in the

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Speaker 2: Northern Territory very very happy. Have they?

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Speaker 1: Has the Northern Territory government sat down with you on

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Speaker 1: this one? Because cost of living? I would say crime

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Speaker 1: and cost of living are the biggest issues for Territorians

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Speaker 1: right now.

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Speaker 2: There are the biggest issues. We have written wrote to

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Speaker 2: the previous Chief minister and no not now written to

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Speaker 2: another Chief minister.

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Speaker 1: Not not so.

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Speaker 2: Minister. Seniors really didn't receive a reply. I think you know,

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Speaker 2: I know things that we all know, things the type

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Speaker 2: we all know. But budgets are type. But for heaven's sakes,

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Speaker 2: if contemplating moving a library at three four million for

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Speaker 2: I don't know how many people, when you can actually

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Speaker 2: bring a smile to seniors who have already contributed to

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Speaker 2: the Northern churchary socially and economically, and we want to

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Speaker 2: keep them here because again they're a valuable asset to

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Speaker 2: the Northern Churchy. They the amount of hours they do

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Speaker 2: in babysitting, in holidays and then volunteering as well. Do

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Speaker 2: we really want to lose some more because you know

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Speaker 2: they will go with the crime rate as well. But however,

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Speaker 2: let's make people happy. Isn't that difficult, Katie? Two million

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Speaker 2: bucks out of a budget really to make twenty thousand

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Speaker 2: people give them some sense of relief, that's all we're

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Speaker 2: asking for.

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Speaker 1: Well, sir, look, I know not everybody will agree with me,

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Speaker 1: but I would like to see you this go up.

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Speaker 1: I think that investing in our seniors is money well spent.

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Speaker 1: I also think that investing in our police force to

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Speaker 1: make sure we've got enough of them is money well spent,

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Speaker 1: and our frontline workers. So I would prefer to see

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Speaker 1: money invested into things like that than some of the

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Speaker 1: other stuff that we've got around the place.

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Speaker 2: I entirely, excuse me, entirely agree with you. I mean,

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Speaker 2: let's look after our core business first, and obviously that's health,

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Speaker 2: justice and education, and so that's the government's core business.

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Speaker 2: If you can't get that right, there's something on. The

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Speaker 2: next core business obviously is the community. So let's look

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Speaker 2: after the communities. I said before, I couldn't think of

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Speaker 2: anything better than a nice early Christmas presence for seeing

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Speaker 2: is that they get an extra hundred dollars bring it

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Speaker 2: up to six hundred dollars on the ntc IS recognition

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Speaker 2: card scheme.

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Speaker 1: So just tell us when exactly what year was this

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Speaker 1: scheme originally? You know, when did it originally come out?

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Speaker 1: Which won the CPI the CPI, sorry that the Senior's

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Speaker 1: recognition schemes.

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Speaker 2: So there was a review down in twenty seventeen, you recall,

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Speaker 2: because there was a hell of a lot of misuse

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Speaker 2: and fraud. There was just an anti concession scheme. So

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Speaker 2: it was revamped and then it was revamped in twenty eighteen.

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Speaker 1: And it hasn't hasn't.

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Speaker 2: Had an increase at all to the five hundred dollars,

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Speaker 2: none what soever.

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Speaker 1: So some out there listening will be thinking to themselves,

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Speaker 1: Hang on, Cancene, is really complain about this. I mean,

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Speaker 1: it's five hundred dollars for nothing. What would you say

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Speaker 1: to them.

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Speaker 2: I'd say, yeah, well it's not actually nothing. It's called

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Speaker 2: a recognition scheme. That's what it's called a recognition schemes.

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Speaker 2: I said before, These scenes have already contributed to the

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Speaker 2: economic growth of the Northern Turty and the social growth

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Speaker 2: of the Northern Turkey, and they can continue to do

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Speaker 2: so all the time. Let's face it, they're not the

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Speaker 2: ones committing the crime. So really, when all's said and done,

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Speaker 2: as I said, it's a recognition scheme and we just

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Speaker 2: have to actually be very sensible about it. That's why

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Speaker 2: we've only asked for one hundred dollars at two million

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Speaker 2: dollars for twenty thousand seniors. So really, what's the problem.

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Speaker 1: Well, Sue Shara, I always appreciate your time, and I

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Speaker 1: was having a giggle before when you said meat life

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Speaker 1: took the words right out of my mouth. He's lined

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Speaker 1: up here to play a little bit later, so I'll

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Speaker 1: have to play it for you ladies. Are you sure

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Speaker 1: we'll be meat love it love Sue Sharer. Always good

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Speaker 1: to speak with you. Thanks so much for your time,

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Speaker 1: pleasure Katy Season, Thank you