Vic Seniors undecided on vote

“The senior vote is up for grabs to any political party willing to listen,” says Council on the Ageing (COTA) Victoria executive director, Sue Hendy. She has released research which shows that, despite clichés about older people being “rusted on to political parties”, 51% of Victorian seniors have yet to make up their minds who to vote for in the November State election.

COTA’s research, Seniors Voices: voting intentions of Victorian seniors, also shows that nearly 80% of those polled believe that political parties aren’t interested in them. This is despite over-65s making up 17% of eligible voters, which is sufficient to affect the outcome in all marginal seats, according to COTA.

The new proportional voting system for Victoria’s Legislative Council means that more parties have a chance of gaining seats, so the balance of power could be held by those willing to listen and respond to seniors’ concerns, Sue Hendy said.

Key findings of COTA’s research, conducted in April and June 2006, with over 500 seniors – mostly over 70 years old – are that:

· Three-quarters of older voters think “political parties don’t recognise the significance of the older vote”

· Nearly 80% of respondents agree with the statement “political parties aren’t really interested in or listening to what older people want”

· Over 50% of respondents said that they would make up their voting intentions based on the position of the various parties on specific issues.

It also showed that older people were concerned about a broad range of issues including the economy, employment opportunities for their grandchildren, industrial relations, education and the environment.

Asked to list the seniors’ issues that would influence their vote, the respondents nominated: public health and community services; public transport; fitness and health promotion opportunities; housing; protecting vulnerable older people; cost of living and concessions; and safer communities.

For information visit www.cotavic.org.au