Left abandoned and alone: our elderly shame

Statistics on visits to people in aged care are staggering, writes Paul Murray

WE

got a shocking wakeup call about how we really treat our elderly this week.

We learned that a staggering 40 per cent of people in aged care do not get a single visitor all year long.

Nothing for Christmas, nothing for their birthday, nothing for Mother’s Day or Father’s Day, nothing at all.

This is a national disgrace. The oldest among us built Australia, they fought for this country and they created our families. The least they deserve is someone, anyone, to tell them we still care and still love them.

We all live busy lives, but if we can make time to see a movie, we can visit an older person.

If you have time to watch even a half of football, you can visit someone you love.

If you are meeting mates for brunch, lunch or drinks this weekend, you must make time to say hi to these clearly neglected souls.

Again, I know you are busy, but come on Australia — one day it will be us in care. Ask yourself how you would feel if no one ever visited you. Time to the pull the trigger I’VE spent the week in Queensland and Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk needs to put the public out of its misery and call an election.

The fake campaign has gone on for months and there is a real feeling of uncertainty about who will be running the state into the future.

Ms Palaszczuk says she won’t call one until next year, but the billboards are up and the union posters are all over Brisbane.

She needs to back herself and trust the people’s judgment.

Every day she waits, she creates doubt about her hunger for the job and her passion for a better Queensland. Union has it both ways IF you ever wondered why people tune out of politics and the media that covers it, look at the reaction to the raids on the AWU.

Attention quickly moved from the raids to who knew about the raids — and we truly jumped the shark when the union filed a freedom of information request to know exactly what the minister knew.

This is the same union that was raided by the AFP because it wouldn’t hand over documents about donations to the ALP, its former boss Bill Shorten’s campaign to get into Parliament and activist group GetUp! This is the same union that went to court to stop other authorities seeing these documents, even after the AFP got them.

How can it demand transparency, when it has seemingly fought it all the way along?

But the media didn’t care — they only cared about the game that focuses on themselves. Amazing. C’mon Aussie, c’mon WOMEN’S cricket gets its moment in the sun this weekend with the women’s Ashes being shown live on Channel Nine.

It’s about time. They are a successful team and we are always told that there is an audience waiting to watch them.

Just like the AFL’s women’s comp, there will be doubters. But let’s prove them wrong, let’s back the Aussies and let’s watch it in droves so these players get the attention, and eventually, the pay they deserve. Joining Paul on the program this Monday are Graham Richardson, Ross Cameron and Janine Perrett.