pelican,

Thank you. The Greens' policy is recent and the party is to be commended for taking up the challenge in a difficult area of policy and where the major parties have performed abysmally for decades.

As you would probably recognise from what I have written in previous threads relating to aged care policy, there is much in the new Greens' policy I agree with. Ageing is a natural part of life and one should not be punished for it. It will be possible to discuss the detail when it is fleshed out after the Productivity Commission's final report. While on that subject, the Greens are right to criticise the major parties for using reviews to stall when there are very obvious improvements that are known and can be implemented right away.

Many will have reservations about the likely future where seniors pay for their aged care, with their home included in the asset test and the expectation that they will take out a reverse mortgage if necessary for their contribution. This interview with National Seniors chief executive Michael O’Neill, is interesting,

http://radioadelaidebreakfast.wordpress.com/2011/01/25/productivity-commission-report-aged-care/

Grey nomads joke that they are spending the kids' inheritance, but little do they realise that government is planning to take it anyway.

In a previous job I dealt with many people who were angry at the decreasing standards of aged care as shown in your link cornflower.

The main problem appears to be finding qualified and suitable staff to undertake these very low paid jobs. Even the higher paid nurses earn less than their hospital counterparts which does not say much for the value we place on care for the ageing.

" Ageing is a natural part of life and one should not be punished for it."

Yes, and unfortunately the signals are that ageing is fodder for politicians in attempts to force a higher retirement age, taking away of assets, poor indexation of pensions/super etc. I was brought up to respect my elders and find it very difficult to digest the finger pointing at the elderly due to mismanagement by governments.

Michael O'Neill said that the system has been taken over by regulators, contract packages and red tape. Also, consumer choice is lacking. He is right.

It is yet another policy area where government is attempting to slough off its accountabilities to private contractors. There will be thousands of highly paid bureaucrats involved in 'contract management' and demanding endless reports to 'monitor' from Canberra.
Canberra's record in contract management is poor.

Workers
Unfairly, nurses in gerontology/aged care are paid less. More tradition than anything else. The training of doctors needs to be improved (skills and attitudinal).

It is clear blue sky for the Greens if they promote direct/real consultation for seniors in decisions that affect them. A separate administering authority is a good idea.

It is another area where a whole of government approach is needed because decisions being made in town planning, transport and so on impact markedly on seniors and on other vulnerable members of society. Neither of the major parties is inclined to treat seniors with respect and they are certainly not willing to earn their votes through effective representation.

Interesting that supporters of war, forced imposition of democracy, suppression of minorities, incarceration of substance abusers/mentally ill, decreased funding for mentally ill and the elderly, anti-drug prohibitionists/drug war atrocities, incarceration of refugees and unwarranted fear of same, racist policies, homophobia, opposition to equal rights, a woman's free choice and the control of education in the name of religio-superstition also oppose euthanasia.

It is a very curious thing that so-called "pro-lifers" [who are actually pro a form of 2nd rate existence], demand to control our birth, quality of life - which they suppress - and insist we cling to undignified and agonising death thralls that via some bizarre reasoning, equip them with bonus points for the hereafter they wrongly believe exists.

Who wouldn't want the choice to die?

As for claiming depression and other distressing illnesses are not worthy of the choice to die, I find this perhaps the most repugnant of all. When someone has lived 40-50 years with Major Depressive Disorders, Obsessions, Confusion, Imperfect memory and worse they indeed have a right to decide when they tire.

What trashy rot to argue there is 'treatment".