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Speaker 1: Last week I had a couple of people message through

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Speaker 1: and ask me when the senior's concession cards we're going

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Speaker 1: to be sent out or what the situation is with

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Speaker 1: those seniors concession cards. Now joining me on the line

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Speaker 1: to tell us a little bit more, it is Sue Shearer,

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Speaker 1: the CEO of Kota, the Council of the Aging here

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Speaker 1: in the Northern Territory. Good morning to you, Sue, Good

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Speaker 1: morning Katie.

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Speaker 2: Loved to talk to you again. Lovely to have you on.

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Speaker 1: It is it's cold, Sue, it's been very cold this morning.

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Speaker 1: Don't you reckon?

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Speaker 2: Oh coolish Australian person, This is just cool. Cold is

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Speaker 2: minus four so yeah, that's so.

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Speaker 1: True, so true. Now it's been good for a bit

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Speaker 1: of a change. Now, Sue, tell us about the senior

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Speaker 1: concession cards. Where are they at? Do they come out

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Speaker 1: sort of at the beginning of the financial year or

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Speaker 1: what's the situation?

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Speaker 2: No, no, they don't. People should get them the end

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Speaker 2: of July early August. They don't come out till then.

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Speaker 2: But that's the anti senior's recognition tame with a debit

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Speaker 2: card with the five hundred dollars on it, So people

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Speaker 2: should be getting them round about the end of July

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Speaker 2: that they'll be checking that, you know, everybody's reregistered or

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Speaker 2: renewed their membership. They and the Green Card, which is

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Speaker 2: a concession card for power and other and other ones

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Speaker 2: that you don't get a new cards for that one.

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Speaker 2: But the Anti Senior's Recognition Scheme debit card, yes, you

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Speaker 2: get a new one every year if you have reregistered,

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Speaker 2: but that won't be coming out till the end of

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Speaker 2: July early August.

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Speaker 1: I reckon that that's the one though. I reckon that's

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Speaker 1: the one that people have been in contact with me about.

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Speaker 1: I think they were wondering whether it came out, sort

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Speaker 1: of whether it had come out already and whether they

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Speaker 1: missed out. But that's not the case. They're still to

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Speaker 1: come out end of July early August.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, they come, you know, they have to. There's obviously

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Speaker 2: quite a few of them. I think for memory, there's

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Speaker 2: fourteen thousand cards that have to be sent out throughout

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Speaker 2: the Northern Urredy and they have to make sure that

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Speaker 2: all the addresses. You know, you don't want the card

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Speaker 2: going to the wrong places. Five hundred dollars on it.

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Speaker 2: So yeah, absolutely forgetting them, I said, enter July, early

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Speaker 2: August and then they can go shopping.

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Speaker 1: And so what exactly can our seniors spend that money on?

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Speaker 1: So is it five hundred did you say.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it's five hundred dollars. We did right to the

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Speaker 2: previous Chief Minister and use you. As you know with

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Speaker 2: the CPI increase that that car that five hundred dollars

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Speaker 2: is not index to CPI. There hasn't been an increase

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Speaker 2: for three years. So we did ask for an increase

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Speaker 2: of one hundred and fifty dollars to help people with

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Speaker 2: the cost of living, but unfortunately that didn't come to fruition,

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Speaker 2: but we will keep trying. We believe that it should

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Speaker 2: be increased, as we know with people's rents and also

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Speaker 2: food and you know, people are really struggling, so it

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Speaker 2: would really help our scene as if they had some

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Speaker 2: extra money on that car. So yeah, so we are

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Speaker 2: obviously lobbying very hard for that and.

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Speaker 1: So so is it You can use it on travel?

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Speaker 1: Is that right? And what else?

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Speaker 2: You can use it on travel, but you can use

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Speaker 2: it to buy food, you can use it to buy clothes,

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Speaker 2: you can use.

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Speaker 1: It to.

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Speaker 2: Obviously if you've got a pet vet re builders a

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Speaker 2: whole lot the main actually probably is easier to say

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Speaker 2: the three things you can't use it on is alcohol, yep,

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Speaker 2: gambling products and naughty products.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, well that's fair enough. So fair enough. Now, I

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Speaker 1: would assume that a lot of our Northern Territory seniors

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Speaker 1: as well do really wait, you know, to get this.

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Speaker 1: I would imagine that for a lot of them, they

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Speaker 1: there may be expenses or different things that they've been

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Speaker 1: holding off on or not able to buy that this

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Speaker 1: has a real impact for Oh.

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Speaker 2: It would like if they needed a new fridge or

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Speaker 2: a new oven, or they need to repair their car,

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Speaker 2: all sorts of things. When you're on a low income,

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Speaker 2: it's very difficult. And as I said, I've watched people,

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Speaker 2: you know, shopping and you know, I know, even my

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Speaker 2: shopping has gone up like thirty forty dollars. I mean,

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Speaker 2: it's just really difficult to make end to meet at

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Speaker 2: the moment, and especially for seniors in the private rental

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Speaker 2: market with that going up as well, and they're on

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Speaker 2: a low income. You know, a lot of people are

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Speaker 2: really close to the poverty line. So that's why we

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Speaker 2: really wanted an extra minimum one hundred and fifty on

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Speaker 2: that car. But you know, the battle has just begun, Katie.

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Speaker 2: We will continue the battle to get that money on

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Speaker 2: the car.

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Speaker 1: Well and do let us know whether there is going

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Speaker 1: to be an increase in line with CPI when it

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Speaker 1: comes to that. You know that five hundred dollars for

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Speaker 1: five hundred dollars for the car, I'd be very interested

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Speaker 1: to hear. So. I understand as well that in the

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Speaker 1: territory we've had a bit of a growth in population

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Speaker 1: with our seniors. Is that correct?

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Speaker 2: We sure have. We've had the since we've been delivering

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Speaker 2: the Seniors car, I have had the hotnest influx of

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Speaker 2: seniors relocate to the Northern tertary. How we do this

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Speaker 2: they apply when they move to the Northern Church, they

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Speaker 2: apply for their Anti Senior's card if they're over sixty.

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Speaker 2: And we've had four hundred and eighteen people move to

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Speaker 2: the Northern churchy seniors Mainly they've moved to Darwin and Palmerston,

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Speaker 2: about twenty three to Alice Springs, about seven or eight

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Speaker 2: to Catherine and some to Nolumbos, some to hog ib

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Speaker 2: So And the average age is sixty to sixty five.

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Speaker 2: And they've come from far afield of Scotland, the Philippines

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Speaker 2: and New Zealand. So we are attracting more seniors, which

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Speaker 2: is wonderful because as we know, they don't just contribute economically,

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Speaker 2: but they also contribute very much to the community and

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Speaker 2: the social fabric and volunteering. And I think a lot

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Speaker 2: of them, the oldest ones that have had over eighty

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Speaker 2: they've come here to be closer to their children and

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Speaker 2: grand children, which again is wonderful thing.

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Speaker 1: It really is. Now to anybody out there listening this

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Speaker 1: morning who might be wondering whether they are indeed eligible

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Speaker 1: for the is it the Senior's Recognition Card? Is that

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Speaker 1: what it's called.

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Speaker 2: Yes, it's the Anti Senior's Recognition Scheme. You have to

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Speaker 2: be sixty five and over and I will just go

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Speaker 2: online and double check, yeah, that you have renewed your membership.

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Speaker 2: You have to renew it every year so they can

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Speaker 2: keep up with changes of addresses and different areas like that.

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Speaker 2: But yes, don't worry, you will be getting your card.

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Speaker 2: As I said, there's about fourteen thousand of them to

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Speaker 2: go out for the over sixty five and the businesses

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Speaker 2: have to remember as well. The one good thing is that, no,

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Speaker 2: they're very loyal customers here and I'll spend that money locally,

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Speaker 2: so absolutely money going to the community.

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Speaker 1: It really is well, Sue Shier. It is always great

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Speaker 1: to catch up with you. I really appreciate your time

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Speaker 1: this morning and we will talk again very soon.

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Speaker 2: Pleasure, Kadie, thank you you too,