Media release
From the Minister for Aged Care
Monday, 18 October 2004
CARERS WEEK: GIVING THANKS TO THOSE WHO GIVE
The Aged Care Minister, Gavin Jennings today acknowledged the vital role carers play in society, and thanked them for their energy and commitment.
Mr Jennings joined carers and a number of performers, including Bud Tingwell and Stephen Curry, at Parliament House to launch Carers Week, which runs from October 17-23.
Mr Tingwell was among the performers reading ‘Carer Stories’ – personal accounts of the challenges and rewards of being a carer. Actors Margot Knight, Maggie Millar and Tracy Harvey read extracts of from ‘If I should die before I wake’, a play which portrays the challenges of ageing parents caring for children with disabilities. Anne Huxtable performed a belly dance relating to her story ‘Dancing the Blues Away’.
“Being a carer is one of the toughest jobs around, but it can also be very rewarding. Carers know best the satisfaction and joy that caring for a loved one can bring – they also know the frustration, weariness, emotional and physical costs and lost opportunities,” Mr Jennings said.
“Carers Week is our chance to recognise their selfless work.”
Mr Jennings said the Bracks Government acknowledged carers’ rights to choices and opportunities about how they want to live, how they want to care for loved ones, and their often unsung contributions.
“This financial year we will invest $118.5 million in funding to support carers, and the people for whom they care,” Mr Jennings said.
“This includes $71 million for respite and support services for carers of seniors, plus $770,000 to provide flexible support for carers of people with dementia.
“There is also $240,000 for four trial projects on innovative, creative and flexible respite options within existing services in the Gippsland and Loddon Mallee regions and Melbourne’s south and north-west.”
A recent study, What Carers Want, commissioned by the State Government through the National Ageing Research Institute, indicates that flexible and innovative support services is what carers most value.
“The findings will help us to shape carer support service planning and development, to ensure we support carers and their loved ones in a way that is meaningful to them and maximises their quality of life.”
Carers Week events are listed on the Carers Victoria Internet site at:
(F: Press2004/CarersWeekGJ/pivetta/18.10)
Media contact: Rebecca Armstrong - 9651 5799 or 0407 837 272