Merle Mitchell is helping lead Victorian Government policy for seniors.By Shaun Inguanzo
SPRINGVALE’S Merle Mitchell will lead a State Government advisory council allowing senior citizens input into policy making.
Mrs Mitchell, 73, is a former director of the Springvale Community Aid and Advice Bureau, and former president of both the Australian and Victorian Councils of Social Service.
She is also an Order of Australia Medal recipient.
Mrs Mitchell told Star she was excited to be announced as the chairman of the Ministerial Advisory Council of Senior Victorians (MACSV).
Aged Care Minister Lisa Neville announced Mrs Mitchell’s appointment as chairman and that of the 15 other members of the committee, early this month.
The council of senior citizens will preview policies and provide input and feedback with the interests of ageing Victorians in mind.
Mrs Mitchell said one of the MACSV’s goals would be to ensure the State Government did not see the growing ageing population as a problem without a solution.
“We hear all sorts of comments from some policy people, and some in government, about the increasing number of seniors,” she said.
“They say that (the state) is not going to be able to provide services for them because the numbers are increasing so much, and we don’t have that sort of money.
“But they forget that people are much healthier now, and these people can contribute to the community until they are much older than what we have seen in the past.”
Mrs Mitchell said an early example of the council’s role was to provide input into how the State Government’s new public transport ticketing system, Myki, would be marketed to older Victorians.
“It’s about whether older people can understand how to use it,” she said. “It’s also a big change and it will be about whether there is a capacity for system to be able to work so that those people who don’t have a whole lot of money can still use it.”
Mrs Mitchell said the MACSV met for the first time last week.
“At the end of the two days I really felt we were a team of people who want to do some good work together,” she said.
Ms Neville said the MACSV included a diverse range of senior Victorians to ensure both country and city were equally represented.
“The new MACSV has a balance of experience and skills with seniors representing rural and regional areas, as well as culturally diverse and indigenous backgrounds,” Ms Neville said.
“I am confident the new members of the advisory council will be powerful advocates on behalf of all senior Victorians and I look forward to working with them.”
