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

 

[Rambo10]

I would like to say yes to all these petitions.

 

[Kab]

I wish to add my signature and support to all 4 petitions

 

[Goodness]

How do we sign?

 

[zero 2]

Gamiry, go to the heading of all the 4 petitions above and click on them, it will take you to a page for each petition and then you just put in your details and hit send. I hope I am answering you correctly. That is how it works on my computer.

Thanks for this...

 

[zero 2]

Just happy someone explained how to do these petitions..thanks again..of course signed all three.

 

[wendell]

I was trying to put into the petition but it kept clicking back up to my name after I filled in and pressed sign. So don’t know if it went thru

 

[Bazmo]

Hello Maddy,
I have just registered with the organisation, my wife and I being 72 and 74 respectively and live in Aldinga Beach SA 5173. I recently sent a request for consideration to our Premier Mr Malinauskas regarding aged renters (like us) not be able to take advantage of electricity discounts through solar and solar batteries as the home owners aren't concerned with our utility costs (although there are some rental homes that enjoy solar and or batteries but the majority don't.) Cost of rentals as we know is out of control with home owners cashing in while the renters go "without" to try and make ends meet (as we are). Also at the whim, of the home owner rental increases are hitting the pocket of those who can least afford it, often at the recommendation of agents who make a few extra dollars in fees. So the owner benefits, the agent benefits and the renter pays.
My proposal to Mr Malinauskas is this or some form similar in principle and applies to SA rental prices in this case. Rentals up to $400 per week, no change. Rentals from $400 to $500 per week, the owner has to provide a minimum of 3Kw of solar panels. $500 to $600 per week, the owner has to provide a minimum of $6Kw of solar panels and over $600 per week the owner has to provide a minimum of $6Kw of panels and a battery for storage, specification to be determined, and so on.
This is an in principle idea and made for discussion where final specifications could be determined in consultation with stake holders and renters. The advantage apart from renters being able to take advantage of solar power, is that the home owner has to carefully consider whether to put prices us when reaching the threshold of the rental fee. If the owner requires a jump into the next price bracket, it will cost them the price of extra solar for the home. This may help in stabilising rentals prices and stopping gouging by home owners and agents.
The Premier's office responded to my letter with an encouraging "will be taken into consideration at the appropriate time". I won't be holding my breath, but at least it's a suggestion to try and kerb rising rental costs.
Maybe a petition could be raised for the renters of Australia to be cared for, for a change.
Regards, Robert (Bob) Balsamo, Aldinga Beach SA 5173.

 

[elaine41]

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

Maybe you could consider those of us who are affected by this idiocy. Try living in rural Australia where blackouts & loss of internet are regular problems. Without the availability of cash we can be at the checkout or petrol pump with a full trolley or fuel tank & no means to pay. What are we supposed to do then? Leave the trolley behind & have no groceries unless we drive another 100 kms on another day to get our groceries? Leave our car behind & walk home (45 km for me) because we could not pay for the petrol?
Your signature does not mean you don't need these services but helps those of us who do need them.
Maybe you could show some consideration for us & sign the petitions.

 

[elaine41]

Hello Maddy,
I have just registered with the organisation, my wife and I being 72 and 74 respectively and live in Aldinga Beach SA 5173. I recently sent a request for consideration to our Premier Mr Malinauskas regarding aged renters (like us) not be able to take advantage of electricity discounts through solar and solar batteries as the home owners aren't concerned with our utility costs (although there are some rental homes that enjoy solar and or batteries but the majority don't.) Cost of rentals as we know is out of control with home owners cashing in while the renters go "without" to try and make ends meet (as we are). Also at the whim, of the home owner rental increases are hitting the pocket of those who can least afford it, often at the recommendation of agents who make a few extra dollars in fees. So the owner benefits, the agent benefits and the renter pays.
My proposal to Mr Malinauskas is this or some form similar in principle and applies to SA rental prices in this case. Rentals up to $400 per week, no change. Rentals from $400 to $500 per week, the owner has to provide a minimum of 3Kw of solar panels. $500 to $600 per week, the owner has to provide a minimum of $6Kw of solar panels and over $600 per week the owner has to provide a minimum of $6Kw of panels and a battery for storage, specification to be determined, and so on.
This is an in principle idea and made for discussion where final specifications could be determined in consultation with stake holders and renters. The advantage apart from renters being able to take advantage of solar power, is that the home owner has to carefully consider whether to put prices us when reaching the threshold of the rental fee. If the owner requires a jump into the next price bracket, it will cost them the price of extra solar for the home. This may help in stabilising rentals prices and stopping gouging by home owners and agents.
The Premier's office responded to my letter with an encouraging "will be taken into consideration at the appropriate time". I won't be holding my breath, but at least it's a suggestion to try and kerb rising rental costs.
Maybe a petition could be raised for the renters of Australia to be cared for, for a change.
Regards, Robert (Bob) Balsamo, Aldinga Beach SA 5173.

Have you considered the cost of placing solar panels on the roof &, if you (the renter) wants it, a battery? Any sane home owner who rents his property would add a substantial amount to the rent to cover the cost of installing solar panels &/or batteries. Why should the home owner cover the cost of your electricity use? That, surely, is your responsibility. I know things are tight at the moment but with careful use of electricity you can keep your bill down to a manageable level. I know, I have & I, too am a pensioner living in rural Australia where the weather now is really cold but by adding more layers of clothing & a rug around my legs I have managed so far this winter to avoid needing to use any form of heating.

 

[J.C.]

Stop removing cash from society

 

[Heather Watson]

Would like to sign this pation

 

[Heather Watson]

Would like to sign this patition

 

[lynstacker]

All 4 signed. The banks have too much control over our money already. Mine has me restricted to a certain amount per day so if I exceed the amount, any card transaction is declined and I cannot withdraw money from an ATM. As we know there aren't many branches left. Rant over

 

[LEEANNE Emmett]

Leeanne emmett

 

[milanpreocapic]

How do you sign the petitions?

 

[Singomate]

Ŵell done we should have at least 200 000 signatures. Let's

 

[Rob44]

Yes, I want to be a part of it. Please guide me how to do it
And don’t treat me as a 7yo, as the 7yo knows more technology than I do. I am 78yo, a dinosau

Dinosaurs were one of the most successful mobs on the planet. 150 million years, and it took a Mt Everest -sized meteorite to wipe them, and much else, out. They occupied the seas, the land and the skies, and their descendents, the birds, still flit around.

 

[Rob44]

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

You should see the queue to use those bloody pack-it-yourself machines. Woolworths where I live used to employ 10+ "check- out" chicks and an equal number of "bagger-chicks" who put your goods in a bag for you. That was in 1989. Queues? Very efficient for the customer.

 

[GillyH]

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

There won't be a pension in the future, our government can't afford to support our aging population. That is why they introduced the Superannuation about 30 years ago. But we weren't contributing much. The UK/Europe has had a similar scheme for 65 years people actually contributed towards their Pension for their old age. Retirement age is going up & up. To receive a pension you are going to be means tested even stricter that we are now! I would love to enjoy my 60's & retire now, but I am busy working trying to bump up my Super!

 

[Rob44]

In the UK we used to contribute by deductions from our wages to pay in the National Insurance Scheme with the employer also making a contribution. The money went to government. Keating's superannuation system was half-baked in comparison.