Future of aged care a focus for Friends of Ageing and Aged Care

Aged and Community Services Australia (ACSA) and Council on the Ageing (COTA) Australia are among the peak bodies who have welcomed the announcement of Parliamentary Friends of Ageing and Aged Care and the ‘Loving Food at Any Age’ event, which will be held on Valentines Day next year – 14 February 2018.

The event, which will feature renowned chef and passionate advocate for the importance of food excellence in aged care Maggie Beer, has caused excitement for ACSA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Pat Sparrow who has expressed the hope that the inaugural event will be the “first of many Parliamentary Friends meetings to be held throughout the sitting year” designed to facilitate bipartisan discussion around aged care policy and Australia’s ageing population.

“This is an exciting way to kick off what I’m sure will be an informative series of meetings on one of the biggest issues the country faces: how best to care for our rapidly ageing population,” she says.

She also commended Co-Chairs Senator Dean Smith and Member of Parliament Julie Collins for their commitment to “this important bipartisan engagement around the future of aged care”, with COTA CEO Ian Yates also expressing his appreciation for the initiative.

Mr Yates also welcomed the interest of parliamentarians in the many facets of an ageing Australia and the opportunities the initiative presents.

“This is a time of major demographic change in Australia and we can either reframe our approach to ageing and develop policies to take economic and social disadvantage of this, rather than seeing older Australians as a burden,” Mr Yates says.

As part of the inaugural Parliamentary Friends event ‘Loving Food at Any Age’ Maggie Beer will speak about the importance of eating well at an age and her work engaging chefs and cooks in aged care to deliver flavoursome meals using fresh, healthy ingredients.