Hello dear Members!

I hope you're all well

As most of you know, the Seniors Discount Club is a growing online community for all Australians over the age of 60. We have been around for three years now and feel incredibly lucky to say we now have over 320,000 members!

With our online community growing, and with each and every one of you sharing some of your day-to-day struggles, we have decided to launch a few petitions. We believe with the number of members we have, there is potential for us, as a community, to hopefully inspire some change. We have just four petitions live at the moment, and we'd be more than happy to launch some more if there are any more topics you as a community feel passionate about. If you're interested in seeing the petitions we have live currently, you can see them below:

• Stop the transition to all self-serve checkouts: We think this one speaks for itself! For many of our members, their local supermarkets are quickly transitioning to fully self-served. We believe this is not only causing job losses, but makes the weekly shopping so much more challenging for Australians over 60... Not to mention, how fiddly and frustrating they can be to use! We are petitioning to keep traditional checkouts in our stores.
• Strengthen Aged Care Support, Funding, and Transparency: Sadly, I think I speak on behalf of most of our members when I say the current state of aged care in Australia is extremely concerning. We are petitioning to improve the quality of aged care provided to Australian seniors in facilities across the nation. At the end of the day, our population is ageing and if we continue to turn a blind eye to aged care support, Australians are in for a frightening future.
• Increase the Australian Aged Pension for a Better, Fairer Future: We hear every single day Australian news outlets discuss how Aussies are struggling with the current cost-of-living... But how about our pensioners trying to put food on their table, keep their lights and heating on, and pay for their medicine? The cost-of-living crisis is hitting Australian pensioners the hardest, and there is not enough being done about it.
• Protect the Right to Use Cash and Ensure Financial Inclusivity: Where do I begin?! Without cash, so many Australians suffer. Not every Australian has access to digital payment methods and banking and removing cash, and bank branches is making anything to do with money so much more challenging for Australian seniors. Cash should be kept alive for all Australians.

We know these four topics are just scraping the surface so if there is anything else you'd like us to put a petition together for, please let us know in the comments below.

As with all petitions, the more signatures we get on these, the louder we become! So please share this with all of your family and friends, whether they are a member of the Seniors Discount Club or not! The number of supporters in the top right corner of each petition will be manually updated by our team as often as we can, but our goal is to get 100,000 signatures on every petition!

I cannot thank you all enough for your ongoing support of us and our community. We appreciate each and every one of you!

Sign our petitions! Image source: Shutterstock.

Have a great day!
Maddie

 

[Nanna Tracey]

Have you heard about the VIEW TAX on apartments on the Gold Coast over 5 levels? The tax or our rates, are going up from $8.50 per week.This is an unfair proposal by G.C.C.C. Most of the residents live ing in high rises are pensioners and we cannot it aford this. They are even taking into account underground carparking as a level.

 

[jennineavril]

I would like to see a petition to help the case of Dr Joanna Howe who is trying to get the law changed to prevent abortion up to birth. The current law allows this and babies born alive and viable to live are left to die. Too many babies some of whom are only days away from a normal birth are being left to die and the nurses are forced to leave them in metal trays on their own in locked rooms. These nurses are traumatised by what they are told to do and some have recently given evidence in this.

 

[Tabu]

I refuse to use them as I don't work for them and they don't pay me

 

[Chezab]

Fully support all petitions as vital for everyone Cheryl Auer

 

[rooboy33]

where do we sign I wish to sign all
but where??

 

[loraines]

Thank you for making it easy to sign all four. I have done so.

 

[loraines]

where do we sign I wish to sign all
but where??

Just click the links.

 

[loraines]

call me stupid but I don't know how to do the signatures. Do you need a mobile phone? I WANT TO SIGN ALL PLEASE.

Just click the blue titles. These are links to the letters to MPs

 

[Reaper123]

Signed all 4 petitions.

 

[Elaine Duval]

All these topics are really important to senior citizens. When you reach the age most of us are, we need all the help we can get. I for one, are not up with computers . And they call this progress!!!

 

[Elaine Duval]

Just click the blue titles. These are links to the letters to MPs

You are not stupid, just not of this new age thing they are all going on with. They call it progress!!!

 

[Bazza boy]

I want to sign All the petition s

 

[Macarj]

When you click on each heading it takes you two two pages, one you fill in your details then you click on another which you click on sign and its then done. You actually don't sign. By clicking on sign it signs for you.

View attachment 48772View attachment 48773

Thanks Suzanne all signed

 

[Jumping Jack Flash]

All 4 signed .......

 

[Dinh Dung]

Ensure the Continued Availability of Cash for All Australians
Objective: To maintain equitable access to financial transactions and services by ensuring the continued availability of cash across Australia.
Rationale:

1. Financial Inclusion: Cash remains a crucial tool for financial inclusion, particularly for vulnerable populations including the elderly, low-income individuals, and those living in remote or underserved areas. For these groups, cash offers a straightforward, universally understood means of managing money and making transactions without reliance on digital infrastructure.
2. Emergency Preparedness: Cash serves as a critical backup during emergencies, such as power outages or natural disasters, when electronic payment systems might be unavailable. Ensuring that cash remains readily accessible helps safeguard against disruptions in financial services.
3. Privacy and Autonomy: Cash transactions provide a level of privacy that digital transactions cannot. Maintaining the availability of cash supports individual autonomy and the right to conduct transactions without electronic tracking.
4. Economic Diversity: Supporting a diverse range of payment methods, including cash, contributes to a more resilient and adaptable economy. It allows individuals and businesses to choose the method of payment that best suits their needs and preferences.

Recommendations:

1. Strengthen Cash Infrastructure: Work with financial institutions and retailers to ensure that cash withdrawal and deposit facilities remain available and accessible across urban and rural areas. This includes maintaining a network of ATMs and cash handling services.
2. Support Local Businesses: Provide incentives or support to small businesses and retailers to accept cash, ensuring that it remains a viable option for consumers.
3. Promote Financial Literacy: Educate the public about the importance of cash as part of a balanced approach to managing personal finances, and provide guidance on how to use cash effectively in conjunction with digital tools.
4. Legislate for Cash Accessibility: Consider legislative measures to mandate that cash remains an accepted form of payment for goods and services, and to protect the right to access cash services in all communities.

By adopting these measures, Australia can ensure that cash remains a viable and accessible option for all its citizens, promoting financial inclusion, privacy, and economic resilience.

---

This approach ensures that the importance of cash is acknowledged while balancing it with the need for modern financial systems.

 

[lildav1]

Excellent initiative!

 

[Rick Mortton]

 

[samtumino]

Sorry,l don't agree. Waiting in a long queue isn't fun either. There should be a choice.

Long queues wouldn't be so long if they opened more checkouts, would they?

 

[Ian Blackwell]

This platform has the numbers, and numbers means power to challenge and change things like Pensions, that are rediclesly low, in today's cost affected environment, pension needs to move higher than the rate of inflation, not six to 12 months after the numbers are known!!

 

[Jill57]

Thanks for the proposed challenging petitions
I've signed the four of them as I believe they are all a worthy cause.

Are these the same petitions that we signed several weeks ago ? Can you resign them ?