Wide Bay, February 2019

February, 2019

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WELCOME

FEBRUARY, 2019// SENIORS

Angles of architecture Gail Forrer Seniors Group Editor

24

Living your life with independence

15

Escape to a city full of surprises INDEX

3 10 10 15 21 24 25 27

Cover story - Leo Sayer What’s on Community group guide Wanderlust Wellbeing Living Money Puzzles

PRESENT and future accommodation is on the minds of many people our age.

We might be making a decision to downsize, modify our present home for future requirements, checking out granny flats or looking through retirement villages.

To support your decision making, this month our big read looks at the new wave of retirement villages, in particular, the vertical village.

The name hardly denotes the architectural leaps that have changed the face of this accommodation style from the usual sprawling, one storey plan to buildings that have grown to, as I see it, holistic living centres. It seems to me to make a lot of sense to keep facilities such as medical, beauty care, dining, leisure under one roof, but importantly to share appropriate facilities with the general public.

As you will see in this edition, there are various articles outlining contemporary studies which prove how human beings thrive on a diverse range of companionship. Indeed it is with others we figure out what's going on, compromise and exchange

information and while that’s happening, share a few laughs, feel empathy and the joy of good company.

I have also written a tribute to my newspaper colleague of 25 years, Seniors News reporter and travel writer Ann Rickard. It’s difficult coming to terms with losing my friend and it will leave a hole in our travel pages. So, I’ve decided to do what what Ann would do – ask everyone who can, to chip in and share a pic or two or a long or short story on your travel adventures. In return, I will endeavour to publish in print or online. You can email directly to me: Gail.Forrer@ seniorsnewspaper.com.au There’s plenty of personality, health, wealth and happiness in this edition.

Enjoy Gail

CONTACT US General Manager Geoff Crockett – 07 5430 1006 geoff.crockett@news.com.au Editor Gail Forrer – 07 5435 3203 gail.forrer@seniorsnewspaper.com.au Media Sales Executive Brett Mauger – 07 5435 3203 brett.mauger@seniorsnewspaper.com.au Online Get your news online at www.seniorsnews.com.au Advertising, editorial and distribution enquiries Phone: 1300 880 265 or (07) 5435 3200 Email: advertising@seniorsnewspaper.com.au or editor@seniorsnewspaper.com.au Location: 2 Newspaper Place, Maroochydore 4558 Website: www.seniorsnews.com.au Subscriptions Only $39.90 for one year (12 editions) including GST and postage anywhere in Australia. Please call our circulations services on 1300 361 604 and quote “Brisbane Seniors Newspaper”.

The Seniors Newspaper is published monthly and distributed free in southeast Queensland and northern New South Wales.

The Seniors newspaper stable includes Toowoomba, Wide Bay, Sunshine Coast, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Northern NSW, Coffs and Clarence and Central Coast publications.

Published by News Corp Australia.

Printed by News Corp Australia, Yandina.

Opinions expressed by contributors to Seniors Newspapers are not necessarily those of the editor or the owner/publisher and publication of advertisements implies no endorsement by the owner/publisher.

SENIORS \\FEBRUARY, 2019

NEWS

3

The real Peter Pan on tour Tracey Johnstone FANTASTIC, wonderful, the best, no fears looking forward, proud to reach 70; Leo Sayer enthuses on the eve of his tour of Australia and New Zealand.

He’s just a boy. It’s always been his thing; his song and now his tour, Just a Boy at 70. “I think I am boyish in my ways,” Sayer said. “Everyone looks on me as this eternal youth. Michael Jackson took the title first, but I am the real Peter Pan.” Well, if you take the crazy hair, the lively music, his energetic stage presence, a wardrobe of loud jackets and a youthful attitude – yes, for him being boyish even at 70 is just fine. “I never grow up,” he jokes.

He’s been working up a storm in his barn-sized studio at his home in Sydney’s southern highlands, readying himself for up to two hours of music, if the management allows him to go over time, with a medley of everything old

that remains in the memories of the ‘forever young’ as still exciting, entertaining and evocative.

“People really come to see me because of the music of the past more than the music of today,” Sayer said.

He has 13 albums to choose from. In there are plenty of songs audiences know and will be singing along too. You couldn’t help yourself when you hear Sayer lead with You Make Me Feel Like Dancing, More Than I Can Say, Train, Dancing The Night Away, and the song he wrote for Roger Daltrey, One Man Band.

“Things that weren’t the biggest hits, but at the same time, things that the audience know already and songs which are all part of the story,” Sayer said. His story – and ours.

“A song like Moonlighting, or Thunder In My Heart or Orchard Road will trigger memories for people about what they were going through at that time.

We have shared experiences of that time.”

In between preparing for his tour, Sayer has been scribing his memoir.

“I am writing it by myself,” he said. “I tend to be the kind of person who does everything by himself.”

His career launched in 1972. He has got as far as the end of 1978. “It’s already 77,000 words,” he said. “It’s going to be quite a tome.

“There is so much work going into it. I have had such a busy life.

“I get to a point when I am talking about a particular moment like when I did my first TV series in England, and during that time there a little marks in the diary that I kept and some postcards that I wrote to my mum and dad. Then more events come out.

“Suddenly, oh my God, there I was the night Keith Moon of the Who died. My god, we were together that night and then I saw him off after a party we were at. He gave me a hug and said, ‘I will see you in a couple of weeks’. The next thing he was dead. I was one of the last people to speak to him.”

Sayer swears he is on the home run to getting the book finished. There is also new album in the works, but it won’t be out

TALENT AND VITALITY: Leo Sayer is touring Australia this year with his Just A Boy At 70 show from February to March before heading to the UK. Photo: Ed Fielding before the tour starts.

He is living a busy life, but Australian highland life in a sleepy village surrounded by English foliage and where he says, “you don’t need to know how to reverse park”, suits the 70-year-old who has blended into his little

community.

Since moving to Australia in 2005, he has taken to eating organic foods and enjoying a life with his Italian wife Donatella, free of city pressures.

When he is on tour he is ridiculously fit.

“Every day that you are

doing this and really mobilised and you are motivated, it’s just fantastic,” he says.

“Standing still is the most dangerous thing for me, so I keep moving.”

Just a Boy at 70 tours across Australia from February. For tickets go leosayer.com/shows.

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NEWS

FEBRUARY, 2019// SENIORS

Old way may be answer ‘‘

Seniors News

MAGIC mushrooms could soon move from the party drug culture into the palliative care wing of Australian hospitals.

The drug it contains, psilocybin, has been used for centuries by various religions and spiritual groups. It is naturally occurring and belongs to a group of drugs known as psychedelics which cause changes in a person’s, mood and thought.

A new study is set to monitor the effect of this drug to help a person facing a life-threatening disease and receiving end of life care. A group of 30 palliative care patients will be given psilocybin.

The trial is looking to alleviate a patient’s anxiety while they are

Psilocybin is a naturally occurring hallucinogen that can affect “perception, mood and thought”.

receiving treatment at St Vincent’s Hospital in Melbourne.

It has taken a year for the trial to be given the go-head after researchers battled with the ethics committee and state and federal authorities.

“I think it’s fantastic this study has been able

NATURAL WAY: A new study is set to monitor the effect psilocybin has on helping a person facing a life-threatening disease and receiving end of life care.

Photo: yacobchuk to obtain the requisite approval,” Vice President of Australia’s Psychedelic Research In Science and Medicine Association, Dr Stephen Bright, told 9News. “There have been multiple attempts to use psychedelics which have all been knocked back.

“The fact that this has

been able to secure approval is very encouraging.”

During the six-month trail period patients will receive a single dose of the drug and then be examined for their reaction to anxiety, fear and depression.

Medical professionals

will monitor the patients on “dose day” while therapists will also be on call.

The trial applicants will be screened and will require a State Government permit to take the medication.

The Australian Drug and Alcohol Foundation report,

“...what is evident from the current trials is that psilocybin has the potential to break an individual’s habitual patterns of thought, which can help produce a change in their outlook – what some people are referring to as ‘resetting’ the brain”.

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NEWS

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The Best Quality Assisted Living in the Wide Bay Photo: Ann Rickard

Farewell to a terrific writer Gail Forrer FOR more than 25 years Ann’s columns and travel stories have graced the pages of newspapers in throughout Queensland and Northern NSW. The bigger world knew Ann as an author of six hilarious travel books and a travel writer recognised with prestigious awards.

In 2017, she was honoured as APN’s Feature Writer of the Year.

Besides that, Ann and her husband Geoff ran yearly tours to France.

Ann was formidable, complex, loving and a ridiculously talented person.

I know, because I have worked side by side with Ann for more than 25 years.

On a daily basis, I witnessed her tremendous work ethic, her kindness, her brashness and more than anything her brilliant, upbeat, offbeat, hilarious take on life.

Ann’s love of international travel was balanced by her appreciation of Australia’s natural beauty – I recall her beautiful descriptions of various places in her hometown of Noosa of the blossoming red Poinciana trees in Tewantin, the

Vale Ann Rickard.

Photo: Contributed

everglades and Noosa River’s marvellous mirroring qualities that made you feel like you were travelling through a liquid sky.

Yet, it seemed to me that a family boating trip up the river meant as much to Ann as touring the soaring Alps of Switzerland or visiting the Louvre in Paris.

Her book launches at various placeswere a treat.

We were all held captive when Ann, cool as a cucumber, with mike in hand, cruised the stage and entertained with stories of her great travel adventures.

But above all else Ann was a wordsmith – she could twist, turn and paint words into vivid, clever and very, very funny descriptions.

But, it was her

propensity for honesty, her ability to make fun of herself that let us find a little bit of ourselves in her.

Ann wrote about being wife, a parent a grandparent, about sagging bodies, about Botox, about wearing a two-piece bathing suit at 70, about the importance of little black dresses, good manners and bad taste – she shared all of that and so much with much grace and big smile.

But the last words must indeed come from my friend Ann from a column dated August 17, 2015, when she wrote about death – her own specifically.

“My funeral music of choice is Elvis (Are You Lonesome Tonight?), Frank Sinatra (My Way) and Shirley Bassey (Big Spender). These songs hold a special place in my heart as I have performed them often at two in the morning on the top of my staircase after a night of champagne-induced rollicking (My friends have appreciated this muchly).”

And in classic Ann style: “I have told my husband to harvest as many organs from me as anyone deems worthwhile, apart from the liver. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone”.

Farewell, Ann.

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TRAVEL: Ann Rickard tries and fails to take a selfie beneath the Eiffel Tower.

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NEWS

FEBRUARY, 2019// SENIORS

The right man for the job Retirement plans put on hold to help save struggling Qld town Tracey Johnstone IT WASN’T former Queensland Police assistant commissioner Andy Henderson’s intention to do any more work after 45 years in the force, but then he was head-hunted for a contract that needed his empathic character and particular people skills.

Andy, 67, and his wife Lyn, 62, both retired from the police force five years ago. They spent two years before that planning what they wanted to do in retirement.

Once out of the force, they took up sailing, camping, overseas travel, keeping fit and enjoying an active social life.

Andy also accepted a board position with the Police Credit Union, now Q Bank, and the couple were recruited to Crime Stoppers Queensland. Lyn helped with fundraising activities while Andy became chairman of the board.

The police force had been an important part of Andy’s life for so long and he was pleased to retain an ongoing casual connection – even after retiring.

This was their retirement. Active.

Enjoyable. Body and mind fit.

But just over six months ago, the Queensland Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships needed the right person to work with the Cherbourg Aboriginal Council and residents to identify community issues and their vision.

Andy’s time as the Far North District assistant police commissioner and his experience helping with indigenous community challenges were key to his appointment to the role of Senior Government Co-ordinator for Cherbourg.

“I worked with a lot of government departments in the north to get good outcomes and I think that is why the phone call came,” Andy said.

The Cherbourg community was described as “the most disadvantaged” local government community in the 2016 Census.

BACK IN SADDLE: Andy and Lyn Henderson at their home on the Sunshine Coast.

‘‘

... helping restore community well-being, create community cohesion The town of 1269 people, living three hours north-west of Brisbane, is fraught with poverty, unemployment, alcoholism, violence and a great deal of sadness.

However, residents envision a brighter future for the town and Andy’s ready to lend a helping hand.

“The community is going forward and there is a lot of pride, but every now and then some issues come out and that is what I am there for,” Andy said.

Andy said his work entailed helping restore community well-being,

create community cohesion and harmony.

He emphasised it was also about ensuring government agencies were successfully working together, and funding was being allocated to the right areas. “(I am) co-ordinating government departments, ensuring they are not working in silos within the community,” he added.

“A lot of government departments provide funding to non-government agencies.”

Travelling from his home on the Sunshine Coast, Andy has been on site each week, appreciating the opportunity to work in this critical role.

He cited the set-up of the PCYC Restart program for at-risk school children, with the help of Assistant Inspector Scott Stahlhut and Department of Eduction co-ordinator Simon Cotton, as one of the highlights of the job.

“I am not expecting to solve the problems of the world there,” he said.

Photo: Tracey Johnstone

Cr Elvie Sandow, Deputy Mayor, Cherbourg Aboriginal Shire Council and Andy Henderson next to the town’s new sign.

“There are historical issues. It’s a generational change, but it is going in the right direction.

“There are a lot of good ideas being pushed forward.

“The important things are for the children to feel

safe, go to school and get an education.”

Andy and Lyn talk of a long bucket list that includes seeing as much of the world as possible.

And if a similar project came his way, and as long as Lyn was happy with it,

Andy admitted he could be tempted to take it on as long as it involved problem solving or disaster management, and kept him in touch with his old tribe, the police force.

SENIORS \\FEBRUARY, 2019

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FEBRUARY, 2019// SENIORS

Rejoice! No more kids!

Empty nesters are embracing new-found freedom Tracey Johnstone THE house is a lot quieter, there are less dishes in the sink and washing on the line, the bills are less and so too the cleaning.

The kids have finally left home, the nest is empty.

According to research from the Australian Seniors Insurance Agency (ASIA), empty nesters are embracing their freedom from day-to-day family responsibilities and many are rediscovering financial and social freedom.

Two couples in their early 60s who have seen their children out the door are Prue Weaver and her husband Dave Ginty, and Bob and Carol Bursill.

Both watched their children willingly head out within about two years of finishing high school.

And, like like 51 per cent of those surveyed by ASIA, the reactions to the children’s departure is mostly one of joy.

Prue and Dave fully supported their son and daughter quickly departing the family home.

“I was delighted,” Prue said. “It gave them the chance to do what they wanted to do on their own terms, and I was still available if they needed backup or financial support.

“But basically they were on their own to spread their wings and suffer the consequences, if there were going to be any.”

Bob noted he was thrilled to see his three kids happily gain their independence and know

EMPTY NESTERS: Bob and Carol Bursill, Josie Ginty with mother Prue Weaver and father David Ginty. what they wanted to do.

Carol was the dissenter.

“I didn’t really want all my kids out of the house,” Carol said.

“I would have loved for them to stay home another 4-5 years.”

Most survey respondents, some 74 per cent, said they had more time on their hands.

“The difference was not that the kids were there or not there, it was that that they weren’t at school anymore,” Prue added.

When it comes to finances, life is much better, to start.

“But we still forked out a lot of money for them, even though we didn’t have the day-to-day

expenses,” Carol said.

All agree that even now, they are still handing out money to help their children. “It’s on a needs basis,” Bob said.

But both Carol and Bob wonder, are they now spending more on the children then they used to, but just in larger, lump sums? There are you see, house deposits and grandchildren costs to be considered.

However, Prue and David predicted the their time as a the financiers of their children’s lives wasn’t over just yet.

“We made a deal with them that if they go into university we would either pay their fees or

accommodation. We were then able to budget for the amount,” Prue said.

Each couple’s financial obligations haven’t stopped them from finding ways to enjoy the freedom that comes with an empty nest.

“We have more time to put into work,” David said.

“But we don’t have to be home to put the dinner on,” Prue added joyously.

With the kids out of the house and retirement from work a reality, both couples joined the 59.6 per cent of survey responders who find themselves spending more time on their recreation and hobbies.

Carol has joined social

groups and got stuck into scrapbooking. Bob spends more time in the garden and tinkering with boats. Prue and David are travelling overseas to fascinating places, but always on a tight budget.

Downsizing is another outcome of becoming empty nesters. While they have retained a spare room in their small apartment, David and Prue are happily out of the much larger family home.

“Well, nobody was using half the house!”

David declared.

Bob and Carol are like about 30 per cent of the ASIA survey responders who have turned a spare bedroom into a hobby

Photo: Tracey Johnstone

space.

“Because we had children who had the grandchildren straight away, we wanted to keep room in the house for them,” Carol said.

Downsizing, however, will soon be on the cards for them.

Allowing any of the children to return home indefinitely isn’t an attractive idea for these empty nesters.

“They come with attachments,” Carol said.

“They come with husbands or wives who you may, or may not, get on with. And the children who you may or may not like the way they are being raised.”

Major boost for senior exercise programs OLDER Australians are being encouraged to put their best foot forward after the Federal Government announced a major boost to keep seniors fit and firing.

Nearly 30 organisations will share in about $23 million invested into the Move It Aus Better Ageing grants – a program designed to help people aged 65 and older “become more physically active and socially connected”.

Minister for Sport Bridget McKenzie said the financial boost was a “really important step” in

helping older Australians stay at their active best.

“No matter what your age and no matter what your stage, we’re encouraging all Australians to embrace the philosophy of ‘movement for life’,” Ms McKenzie said.

Ms McKenzie, along with Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Ken Wyatt, announced the first grant recipients at Inglewood United Soccer Club in Perth.

As part of Football Federation Australia’s Better Ageing Grant, the Inglewood club will develop a small-sided

version of football specifically modified for older Australians.

“The strong demand for Better Ageing grants shows us that organisations are ready and willing to help older Aussies adopt a healthier lifestyle,” Ms McKenzie said.

“Physical activity for over 65s is not a one-sizefits-all proposition. The successful organisations will provide a wide range of opportunities, from simple exercise classes in our remote communities through to modified programs in traditional

sports such as golf and netball.

“It is fantastic that today I am able to let these successful providers know we’re ready to help them deliver a diverse range of programs to support older Australians.”

Mr Wyatt said the activities on offer from the participating organisations should boost the numbers of active seniors.

Currently only 25 per cent of Aussies over 65 are getting their advised 30 minutes of activity per day.

GET MOVING: The Federal Government will invest nearly $23 million into getting seniors more active.

SENIORS \\FEBRUARY, 2019

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Community What's on notes

Community group guide

TO ALLOW for readers’ requests for the publication of more neighbourhood news, please keep notices short and to the point (100 word maximum). If you would like to submit a photo ensure it is at least 180dpi or 500kb to 1mb in size and of faces, in a nice bright setting. Email editor@seniorsnewspaper.com.au.

PROBUS CLUBS

Mixed Probus Club of Hervey Bay Inc. WE WILL meet upstairs at The Boat Club at 9am for 9.30am on Thursday, February 28 and every fourth Thursday of each month thereafter. Visitors are very welcome.

Morning tea costs $3 which is provided by The Boat Club and you are welcome to join members for lunch later but be sure to add your name to the lunch list on the front desk. The speaker will be the very entertaining Liane Mills who will tell us about the ZPac 2019 programme. Liane is always an excellent speaker so do join us. The March meeting will

FOOD N GROOVE FRIDAYS

FOOD n Groove Fridays is set to bring City Park, adjacent to the Fraser Coast Cultural Centre in Pialba alive. Come and celebrate the Fraser Coast’s diversity and vibrant lifestyle through food and entertainment under the stars.

Don’t miss this brilliant new summer event for locals and holiday-makers alike to enjoy, you can leave your kitchens behind each Friday and let someone else do the cooking for you.

Some stallholders will be offering $5 tasting plates so you can try a variety of international dishes. The event also includes a licensed bar, so adults can enjoy a wine or beer with their dinner under the stars. There will be stalls that will offer a range regional crafts, gifts and homewares.

Held at City Park every Friday through February, March and April until Easter from 4-9pm. Next will be held on February 15 at 166 Old Maryborough Road, Pialba. Email events@fcte.com.au or phone (07) 4196 9600.

TIPPLES AND TALES

ENJOY a Tipple and a Tale in the historic Bond

conclude with the AGM and luncheon for members. Visitors may attend the first half which is a general meeting. We look forward to meeting old friends and making new ones – come and join us. Phone Judith on (07) 4125 1671 or 0458 008 087 or Brian on (07) 4124 7023.

TYPE 2 DIABETES WORKSHOP

THE workshop will be covering information on T2D, self-management practice, healthy lifestyle behaviours, and how to access further support in the local community. The workshop is free and runs from 9am-1pm at Gympie (Thursday, February 21),

Store. Meet The Gauger and hear his stories of the Bond Store’s past as you enjoy a tantalising experience of regional ports, liqueurs and tasting platters.

Tipples and Tales is a combination of storytelling with yarns about the Bond Store and its role in the thirsty days of the early settlement; and a tantalising tasting experience of ports and liqueurs from Moffatdale Ridge and delicious platters.

Bookings are essential for all tours and payment is required at time of booking. Minimum numbers are required for tours. Special dietary requirements to be advised when booking.

On Saturday, February 16 at 101 Wharf St, Maryborough. For more, phone (07) 4190 5722 or go to ourfrasercoast. com.au/tipples-and-tales.

Entry: Adult $30.

NIGHT HORSE RIDE AND DINNER

EXPERIENCE their award winning trail ride in the late afternoon. Upon arrival at the river you will be served piping hot soup and garlic bread beside the bonfire before returning to the Homestead by the light of the moon or stars where a two course barbecue meal

NEW COMMITTEE: Gympie VIEW Club 2019 members (from left) Annie Waters (Assistant Treasurer), Margaret O’Keefe (Treasurer), Glynis Vallmuur (Delegate), Carol Tonagh (Assistant Secretar)y, Christine (Fewtrell Secretary), Barbara Cameron (President), Jean Jennings (Zone Councillor). Not pictured: Lee Hodgson (Vice-President).

Maroochydore (Wednesday, February 27) or Caloundra (Wednesday, March 6). Carers and family members are welcome to attend. Loads of information and a great way to get motivated.

Bookings are essential.

Phone (07) 5479 9670.

VIEW CLUBS

VIEW makes a difference in the lives of women by bringing them together, enabling them to create lasting friendships, have fun and contribute to their community in meaningful ways, through supporting the charitable works of The Smith Family. Through strong VIEW networks, women are empowered to achieve

new skills, develop confidence and give collective voice to issues of national concern.

Gympie WE MEET on the third Friday of each month at the RSL Orchid Room in Mary Street. Entrance fee is $24 which includes a two-course lunch and raffle tickets. We have a guest speaker at each months meeting. New members are always welcome. If attending, phone Christine on 0438 777 501 by the Wednesday before the meeting so your meal can be ordered.

VIEW members raise over $1 million annually for the Smith Family and sponsor more than 1300

Learning for Life students.

FRASER COAST CHORUS

THE chorus is a not-for-profit ladies group with limited resources and as well as singing for our own pleasure, we support the community by taking our songs to retirement villages, aged care facilities and to other organisations as a way of enhancing their awareness of music and feeling the pleasure that singing brings. Fraser Coast Chorus is a ladies group who sing beautifully harmonised music in a wide range of genres and love the joy that music brings. For those who enjoy singing and are

looking for friendship and fun, we welcome new members. We practise every Monday in Tavistock Street, Torquay, Hervey Bay between 6-8.30pm.

For details, phone Angie Lewis on 0467 963 778 and go to the website frasercoastchorus.org.au for information about the chorus.

HYMNS FOR HIM

COME along on Sunday, March 31 starting at 3.30pm at Tinana Christian Church, 115 Gympie Road, Tinana, followed by afternoon tea.

Four Salvation Army Bands will play, the Maryborough Choral Society will sing and other items will be featured.

What's on

TIPPLES AND TALES: Come along to Wharf Street, Maryborough for a combination of storytelling with yarns about the Bond Store and its role in the thirsty days of the early settlement – and a tantalising tasting experience of ports and liqueurs from Moffatdale Ridge and delicious platters. will reward your taste buds in their dining room or alfresco area (licensed bar will be available to purchase drinks).

Fire permit dependent.

Weather permitting. Jump in their bus and be at the Susan River picnic area to greet the riders as they arrive for their break.

Numbers limited, booking essential and payment required at time of booking. Saturday, February 16 from 3-9pm at Susan River

Homestead Adventure Resort, Noble Road, Susan River. Phone (07) 4121 6846 or go to susanriver.com. Entry: Adult $45 to $130; Child $35 to $105.

ART AFTER DARK

Art, Music, Drinks. Be inspired. Listen to free live music and enjoy some drinks while you peruse the latest exhibitions at the Hervey Bay Regional Gallery exhibition.

Free entertainment, live

music, nibbles and a cash bar is available. At the Fraser Coast Cultural Centre from 6-8pm. The next few dates are Friday, March 22, May 10 and June 21. Located at 166 Old Maryborough Road, Pialba. Phone (07) 4197 4206 or go to ourfrasercoast.com.au/ art-after-dark.

MARYBOROUGH MARKETS

STOCK up on fresh produce and more at the

Maryborough Markets every Thursday, Maryborough’s city centre undergoes an amazing transformation into a colourful outdoor heritage bazaar.

Make a day of it in the city and join a guided Heritage Walk Tour from outside the City Hall at 9am or ride on a replica steam engine through nearby Queens Park. Held along every Thursday from 8am-1pm in the city centre.

SENIORS \\FEBRUARY, 2019

E R S S LE

NEWS

T N E M TIRE

m o re

Argyle Gardens is the ideal lifestyle where you can step up and enjoy the best retirement location in Bundaberg.

To experience the easy living lifestyle take a personalised tour.

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24/7 emergency response Easy access to Blue Care Help at Home

11

12

FEATURE

FEBRUARY, 2019// SENIORS

Thinking of The choice

‘‘

The design also set out to encourage different generations to interact.

Australia on trend with integrated living.

Tracey Johnstone

tracey.johnstone@seniorsnewspaper.com.au

BIODIVERSE DESIGN: The Kampung Admiralty complex in Singapore has an extensive green footprint on the new site.

Photo: Patrick Bingham-Hall

PCA’s Retirement Living director, Ben Myers.

Photo: Anthony Burns

Kampung Admiralty architect Pearl Chee.

Photo: Jing Wei

RETIREMENT living design has been thrust into international limelight as height and style head towards the sky.

Late last year, Singapore’s innovative Kampung Admiralty project won World Building of the Year. It isn’t an office tower. It’s not a flashy hotel. Nor is it a cultural centre.

It’s a showcase of the latest in vertical biodiverse retirement living design with its social housing, large green footprint, health services, cross generational hub and vibrant community spaces supporting integration, not isolation, for its residents.

Kampung architect Pearl Chee of the Singapore firm WOHA said the aim of the government-sponsored pilot project was to integrate an independent living seniors’ community within an accessible and vibrant public space.

The unique design is layered. At the lowest levels are a public plaza with a food court and neighbourhood retail shops. In the middle is the medical care centre with specialist rooms. On top of that is the quieter activities of an elder care centre next door to the childcare centre, and landscape terraces.

Above that again is the social housing.

“About 80 per cent of Singaporeans live in social housing,” Ms Chee

said.

As they age, most of them look to downsize.

Kampung has 104 apartments sized either 35sq m and 45sq m, each with an open kitchen, one bathroom and one bedroom. The design also set out to encourage different generations to interact.

“The idea was to have a mix so the community was more vibrant,” Ms Chee said. “It’s not a closed-up project. This is a very public building where everyone can access 24 hours. There is no fence.”

The terraces are designed to encourage exercise, social interaction among the residents and spending time with young visitors.

“The operators of the care centres have arranged for combined programs so on a weekly basis the young and the old are actually interacting in arts and craft programs or meals together,” Ms Chee added.

For some residents, their grandchildren attend the Kampung childcare centre. Australia is there alongside the Singaporeans in design and innovation.

Its models may vary because of the needs of this country versus those of Singapore, but when it comes to smart downsizing, Australia is on-trend.

Australia’s Retirement Living Council executive director Ben Myers said there were a range of design innovations, including mixed-used developments and multi-generational

connections such as in Kampung, being seen in Australia and which were changing the concept of retirement living away from the horizontal villages in gated communities.

Two of the newest vertical retirement living choices are Adelaide’s U City and Brisbane’s Aveo Newstead.

The 2018 PwC/Property Council Retirement Census reports only 4 per cent of Australian villages are now vertical, and this number isn’t likely to change soon. Firstly, there are some significant hurdles to overcome.

“One of the challenges is certainly the planning schemes that exist around Australia that in some instances, make that really hard,” Mr Myers said.

“In West Australia, for example, the planning laws preclude the villages from carrying out anything other than retirement accommodation.

“In the minds of many planners, retirement living and aged care are one and the same. But, they’re not.”

It’s the community support and facilities that are not being included in planning schemes Mr Myers said.

“The other challenge is the investment side and getting the capital,” he added.

“Retirement villages can only take intentions to buy into account.

“They don’t have that binding deposit to help finance (a project).”

A horizontal village can be built in several stages.

Foundations for new living style have started Gail Forrer Group Editor THE buildings in this article by Tracey Johnstone show that the world, in particular Australia, is coming terms with a liveable design for older people.

The environments they are designing aim to take into account people’s physical as well as emotional and psychological well-being.

This thinking is in line with a call from the World Health Organisation which, since 2010 has encouraged designers to think about the social, cultural and physical structures that are needed to make an age-friendly city.

The WHO age-friendly cities guide highlights eight domains that cities and communities can address to better adapt their structures and services to the needs of older people: the built environment, transport, housing, social participation, respect and social inclusion, civic participation and employment, communication, and community support and

health services.

Examples of unique and successful living planning includes: The De Rokade Tower Block in the Netherlands, built with a community care and community nursing home complex including a community hub. This complex has kindergarten and other facilities that can be used by the neighbourhood.

Another Netherlands

building project gives students rent-free accommodation in return for spending time and doing activities with residents In August 2013, creating liveable space around the playful and communal strength of “new” ageing was the basis of a talk for Monash University’s Faculty of Art, Design and Achitecture MADA, Space of Ageing program. Dutch

architect Arnoud Gelauff said at the conference that the design of new building should not repeat the dreariness of an ordinary nursing home. Instead, the aim should be to create joy in repetition with beautiful design and communicated ideals of independance, strength, dignity, health, youth and pride. *A REVIEW in Seniors

SENIORS \\FEBRUARY, 2019

FEATURE

13

retirement? is sky high

A vertical village has to be in one.

“There is a transition away from the traditional financial models, which have helped the industry to grow, to now the operators saying if they are going to go vertical, which is what many people are desiring, particularly in capital cities, then they need the capital to build that all in one stage,” Mr Myers said.

“It’s a riskier proposal and requires great confidence that the operator can turn intention to buy into residents.”

Brisbane’s Newstead Mr Myers sees the Aveo development, which won the Award for Design Excellence at the 2018 National Retirement Living Awards, as a great example of the new thinking in mixed-use development.

The 19-storey, inter-city tower ticks the boxes for retail, community dining, aged care and retirement living.

“It’s a new concept in an urban renewal area,” Mr Myers said. “I think that is going to be something we see more of over the next few years.”

Aveo Group chief executive officer Geoff Grady talks with great pride about what has been achieved with Newstead which opened last year.

“It’s the future of retirement living in this country,” Mr Grady said.

The secured upper levels of the layered complex have brought together three distinct accommodation and care products. It has around 150 one, two and

three-bedroom independent living apartments. It also has over 50 apartments for low to medium care clients plus an agedcare facility with nearly 100 residential bedrooms.

Mr Grady noted this structure “enables residents to transfer seamlessly between those offerings when their care needs are elevated”.

On the lower levels there is a hotel unit for overnight rental by family members and 4000sq m for a resident recreational facilities area which includes a large community garden, gym, day spa, library, movie theatre, a-la-carte restaurant, bar, business centre, beauty salon, sky bar and private dining room on the top floor. All of this is wired for the technology of today and into the future, including Google Home.

On the bottom level and open to the whole community is a supermarket, coffee shop, pharmacy and medical centre.

Mr Grady was finding the age group buying into the building were mostly in their 70s, which was consistent with the PPCRC report finding that the average entry age was 75.

“Why they are buying is because of the integration of their care,” he added.

Adelaide’s U City South Australia’s Uniting Communities U City has taken a similar approach to Aveo’s Newstead with its development, but with a few key variations.

The inter-city layered development is on an existing UC-owned site

and opens in mid-2019. It is central to many of the amenities its new residents will require and want.

The 20-storey building incorporates 41 independent living apartments, 21 specialist disability independent living accommodation, 18 short-stay serviced apartments suitable for people with disabilities, open access indoor and outdoor recreational areas and public access retail including a bar and food outlets with the balance taken up by a 420-seat function and convention centre plus commercial tenancies.

Its chief executive officer Simon Schrapel AM believes U City reflects the organisation’s commitment to providing social services and an inclusive and integrated, dynamic community in the city, in a financially viable model.

The site, both retail and its short-stay accommodation, will be run 24/7.

Its entrance is designed to welcome the public with the doors able to be pushed back to facilitate flow to and from the street frontages.

The Baby Boomers’ needs have taken a high priority in the design of the centre. Internet savvy, wanting better health options, ability to mix with other demographics - they are showing a great deal of interest in U City.

“It’s indicative of the group that want to continue to explore new horizons and territories, and I think that is what we are offering in many senses is the opportunity to do that rather than feel

VERTICAL LIVING: Uniting Communities U City development in Adelaide, due to open in mid 2019.

The top floor bar area in the new Aveo Newstead retirement living complex in Brisbane.

Photo: Graham Philip this is the last stage of your life,” Mr Schrapel said.

The vertical living innovations are being driven by the retirees’ desires said Mr Myers.

Some, but not all want cross-generational spaces.

Others want high interaction with the wider community.

“This comes in so many

different forms,” he said.

“The industry is getting its head around that and trying to navigate through the investment and planning hurdles to bring some of these to life.”

and under construction around the planet Housing & Care Journal examined an innovative example of senior housing and care known as Apartments for Life.

This senior housing approach shows the types of efforts that can be made to maintain a sense of integration within a community, despite the onset of physical and cognitive challenges associated with aging.

In the Netherlands,

Apartments for Life are available to individuals over the age of 55, and residents typically enter these apartments while still independent. What makes these residences unique is that when individuals require assisted living or nursing care, such care is brought to them.

The philosophy behind this approach is a belief that older adults want to remain independent and

involved in society as much as possible, and want to avoid the stigma and other associated issues related to relocation.

The Apartments for Life philosophy incorporates four key values: ● The first is autonomy, allowing individuals to remain bosses of their own lives. ● Second is the value of “use it or lose it”,

which in this case reflects a Dutch philosophy of personal strength, which “views the over-provision of care as more damaging than the under-provision”. As a result of this philosophy, older adults are challenged to do as much as they can for themselves. ● Third is the value of embracing a “yes culture” that promotes the idea that older adults

should be given the freedom to enjoy simple pleasures as well as challenges and stimulation – even if it means sleeping until noon or drinking at a bar. ● The fourth value endorsed by this approach is a family centered approach to care giving.

It’s good to see that Australia is and has become part of the mix in innovative housing

design for older people. .

Sources: Space of Ageing/ArchitectureAU 2013 Productive Ageing Forum 2015 (National Seniors) Glass, AP. Innovative seniors housing and care models: what we can learn from the Netherlands. Seniors Housing & Care Journal (2014); 22(1).

14

NEWS

FEBRUARY, 2019// SENIORS

Why the time lapse in aged care services?

Home care package questioned Alison Houston “NO DAY of Dad’s has commenced or ended without prayer,” Margaret Jolly said.

But she fears his days are getting longer and harder on him while he waits endlessly for help from My Aged Care.

Fr Arthur Fellows is one of almost 127,000 older Australians who have been waiting months, if not years, for a Home Care Package.

And at times she is ready to scream with the frustration of it.

At 96, Fr Fellows is currently on a Level 2 package, which provides five hours of help a week, but he is shaky on his feet and becoming increasingly frail.

After being assessed by ACAT (Aged Care Assessment Team), he was approved in February 2018 for a Level 3 package.

Nothing happened.

When Margaret rang in July to find out when the services would start, she was told by My Aged Care there was a 12-month wait.

When she called again in December, she was told it was a 12-month–plus wait.

She has been told unofficially that the wait for many people is 2-3 years.

She pointed out to My Aged Care that her father was 96 and could conceivably not live long enough to receive the service.

She has heard of one woman whose mother was finally approved for a Level 4 package – for those needing the greatest help for issues including dementia – 18 months after she died.

If her father’s condition had deteriorated, My Aged Care told her, he could be re-assessed but it would take six weeks to be seen, at which point he would spend an hour answering the same questions as he had several months ago.

“The irony is if he had the help he needed, I would be paying the

DESERVING BETTER: Fr Arthur Fellows, 96, with daughter Margaret Jolly ... speaking up for almost 127,000 older Australians who wait months or years for a Home Care Package. government far more in tax than it would cost for his package.”

She says the government has “got the maths all wrong”.

They want people to stay in their homes because it costs less than nursing home care.

People want to stay in their homes because it is their home and because they fear nursing home conditions and the boredom, atrophy and depression associated.

Yet the money which should be going to help older Australians to stay safely at home is instead being spent on bureaucracy.

“The fundamental problem with this system is it’s not the ultimate consumer and their needs which it is concerned about – it doesn’t care about the individual,” Margaret said.

She cites a fall her father had before Christmas which left him with a fracture and a cast on his arm. He had already sustained an ulcer on his ankle and a nurse had been approved to come in and change the dressing daily, straight after his shower. However, when Margaret asked if the nurse could come 10 minutes earlier and help put a plastic bag over her

‘‘

The irony is if he had the help he needed, I would be paying the government far more in tax

father’s arm, she was told this was not a nursing duty, but a domestic assistant duty.

To gain this service, she would need a referral and there would be a six-week wait – by which time her father’s arm would be healed, not to mention the unnecessary doubling of costs sending two people to the same house within 10 minutes of each other, and her father being confronted by another stranger.

“Having been through this experience myself, I hate to think what it’s like for those who don’t have a child or someone to advocate for them.”

As an intelligent, professional woman who ran her own consultancy firm specialising in workplace investigations, human resources and management advice and mentoring, she said dealing with the bureaucracy around My Aged Care and ACAT had “just about defeated me”.

But she won’t let it because she said her father is “the most thankful, loving person … the best human being you could possibly meet” and he and others of his generation deserve better than the Australian government is giving them.

15

SENIORS \\FEBRUARY, 2019

ASIAN HUB

HONG KONG ALIVE

PAGES 26–27

Colourful festivals, fab shopping, eating, cultural hubs are just some of the reasons to visit.

HISTORY AND HERITAGE TOURS 2019 Cathedrals and Abbeys Tour of England September 2019

Maps of Medieval England pinpointing the sites of historical monasteries and convents, either surviving or now long lost, are often the cause of wonder. Built on many of those sites are Cathedrals and Abbeys.

Join us as we visit many of those sites as part of the Cathedrals and Abbeys Tour of England, prepared

by History and Heritage Tours. Your host will take you to visit some of the most beautiful buildings in England and hear experienced guides share their love of and interest in various Cathedrals or Abbeys.

BOMBER COMMAND The RAAF in the UK 1939-45

Western Front to Normandy Tour 13 to 25 September 2019

July 2019 During the Second World War, the RAF established and operated Bomber Command. Over the past seven years, Col. Graham Fleeton has led tours to the UK, visiting airfields where the Australian’s flew from during the war and paying their respects to their sacrifices. The tour includes visits to many air museums plus unforgettable days at the Duxford and Yeolvilton airshows.

Memorial tour to France and Belgium to visit the battlefields of the Western Front where General Monash led the Australians in 1918 and then onto the Normandy Campaign. Join us in making sure that those who fell on the Western Front and at Normandy are truly remembered.

For more information or to register please call 1300 450 436 or visit www.battlefieldhistorytours.com.au

6944024aa

16

FEBRUARY, 2019// SENIORS

Eight epic rail journeys Take an iconic journey. Board the fabulous Rovos Rail, known as “the most luxurious train in the world”, in Cape Town and arrive in Victoria Falls

‘‘

Sink into the armchair of a 1920s-style carriage, and take in the Sacred Valley views

RAIL TRAVEL: High up in the Peruvian hills, Machu Picchu.

Photos: SHUTTERSTOCK

THE MARVEL OF RAIL TRAVEL: Meet with an effusive welcome from locals in Jaipur.

Photo: Kedar

Cal ly, experienced team to all our friendly, b uise or touring holiday book your next cru or to join one of Go SSee Touring’s special group departures.

1300 551 997 goseetouring.c com

A TASTE OF SINGAPORE SINGAPORE FOOD FESTIVAL

$3,999

* per person Twin Share Ex BNE, SYD, MEL. a suppliment $1,000

19 - 26 JULY 2019

7 Nights Park Hotel Clarke Quay, cooked breakfast daily, 3 x Lunches, 4 x Dinners, fully escorted by a Go See Touring Escort, Singapore Botanic Gardens, High Tea Fullerton Hotel, Food Walking Tour, cooking Class, Hawker Centres, Gardens by the Bay, Skywalk, Supertree Show

CHRISTMAS IN JULY

20 - 27 JULY 2019

NORFOLK ISLAND

$1,855 FABULOUS FIJI

4 - 11 NOVEMBER 2019

HOSTED BY GRAEME HUGO From

$4,050

per persson Twin Share Ex BNE NE, Single sup ppliment $470

per person Twin Share Ex ADL, Single suppliment $1,550

7 Nights at The Warwick Fiji Resort, all inclusive meal package, return airport transfers, Sigatoka River Cruise,, Mana Island Cruise, Suva Day Tour, Firewal allking D Dinner Show

SOUNDS OF THE SOUTH IISLAND HOS OSTED BY FORTUNATO ISGRO O

$4,795 WELCOME TO SRI LANKA

* per per erson Twin Share Ex BNE NE, Single sup ppliment $950

6 - 13 NOVEMBER 2019 9

7 Nights 4 star accommodation, co cooked break akfast daily, 4 x lunches//5 x dinners, Centrall Otago go Winery Tour, Puzzling World, Warbirds & Wheeells Museum, Sunset Cruise Lake Wan naka, Arrowtow own, Te Anau Glow Worm Caves, Milford d Sound dD Day Cruise, e, Walter Peak High Country Farrm m, Skyline Restaurant Queenstown

26 NOV - 10 DEC 2019

ESCORTED TOUR From

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mmodation, 8 Days ys Car Hire, Half 7 Nights accom Day Orientation Tour, Choice of Hal alf Day Scenic Tour, Breakfast Bush h Walk, Island Fissh Fry, 2 x Feature Dinners with Entertainmeent, PLLUS Full Christmas Dinner with En ntertaiinment

* per person Twin Share Ex BNE, SYD, MEL. Single suppliment $1,150

Join us for 13 nights 3* and 4* accom, daily breakfast and dinner, fully escorted by a Go See touring escort. Negombo Fish Markets, Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage, Sigiriya Rock Fortress, Dambulla Cave Temple, Jeep Safari in National Parks, Matale Spice Gardens, Madu River Cruise & more

CHRISTMAS ON N NORFOLK NORF RFOLK ISLAND From

$2,00 05

* per person Twin Share Ex BNE, Single suppliment $490

the majestic Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. An iconic journey.

EXOTIC, elegant, exciting, and you have only to unpack once as you travel onboard a luxury train to discover extraordinary destinations.

PRETORIA TO CAPE TOWN

Stop dreaming of doing The Blue Train journey and book it in this year. * For travel in May, June or July this year The Blue Train is offering a 50 per cent discount on the costs for a traveller’s partner. This offer is open until February 28 and is only applicable to new bookings.

Experience an overnight Cape Town to Pretoria (or vice versa) route covering 1600 kilometres of some of the most diverse and spectacular scenery on the African sub-continent.

Elegant high teas, fine dining and pure nostalgia – a step back in time.

CAPE TOWN TO VICTORIA FALLS

Board the iconic Rovos Rail, known as “the most luxurious train in the world”, in Cape Town and seven days later arrive at

CUSCO TO AREQUIPA

Hop on the Andean Explorer and take a journey on one of the highest train routes in the world from Cusco, over the Andes to Lake Titicaca and UNESCO World Heritage site, Arequipa, with an optional day trip to Machu Picchu.

REMOTE INDIA IN COMFORT

The Deccan Odyssey oozes opulence with its private butlers, gourmet dining and even an onboard health spa, and will take you to some of the most inaccessible reaches of India in comfort.

ANGOLA TO TANZANIA

Join Rovos Rail and cross the entire continent from Angola to Tanzania in 15 days including a stop in Zambia’s wildlife-rich South Luangwa.

Experience the “dark heart” of Africa from the comfort and security of a luxurious locomotive. A truly epic adventure.

21-28 DECEMBER 2019

Do on’t want to spend Christmas at your pl place this year? Why not visit beautiful Norfo folk Island. 7 nights accom, car hire, orien en ntation tour, Wonderland by night, Breakf kfast Bush Walk, Island Fish Fry, Behind th he Hedges, Convict Settlement Tour, 4 x D Dinners, PLUS full Christmas Lunch

TERMS & CONDITIONS *Price is per person Twin Share. Singlee Supplement applies. Credit card surcharges applyy. Deposit of AUD$500-$800 per person is required to secure tour. Tour requires a minimum number of passsengers to depart. Prices may fluctuate if surc rcharges, fee, taxes or currency change. Prices current as at 20 January 2019.Go See Touring in conjunction with N Norfolk Select Marketing ABN: 93 367 366 66 822 ATAS Accreditation A10619

The Nine Arch Bridge in Sri Lanka.

QUITO TO THE GALAPAGOS

Lovingly restored steam trains descend from Ecuador’s high-altitude capital Quito, through winding Andean valleys, traditional villages and tropical rainforests, arriving in Guayaquil – your launch point for the Galapagos Islands – 4 days later.

MACHU PICCHU, PERU

Aboard the Hiram Bingham train depart Cusco in the morning, sink into the armchair of a 1920s-style carriage, take in the stunning Sacred Valley views and arrive at Machu Picchu by lunch time. Explore the awe inspiring ruins of this sprawling Inca citadel, enjoy a fabulous high tea, then return to Cusco in the evening. Experience Machu Picchu in comfort and glamour.

TEA COUNTRY, SRI LANKA

Considered to be one of the most beautiful rail trips in the world, the Kandy-Ella train is the best way to reach Sri Lanka’s tea country. Twice a day, it snakes through impressive mountains, verdant jungle and rolling plantations, arriving in Ella by mid afternoon.

Popular among both tourists and locals, this is the way to travel.

Info: costs and dates, ph: 02 9327 0666 or classicsafaricompany. com.au.

17

SENIORS \\FEBRUARY, 2019

Deni fishing a classic

decides when to release it into specific areas.

There is still some carp problems with the introduced species muddying the water and upsetting cod breeding.

But the river and the fish numbers are healthier.

The quality of the water has also been improved by better farming practices.

Irrigation is used, especially for the rice crops. Nowadays the water has to stay on the property.

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amazing sizes around here.

The Edward River lost a lot of cod a few years back when it flooded.

Then there was a black water event in which the leaf litter from the flooded forests took the oxygen out of the water.

That also had a big impact on fish numbers.

Yet the people of Deni worked with Commonwealth Water, the body that holds ownership of the environmental water that is stored in dams and

E S

READY TO RACE: Ready for the Deni Fishing Classic Yabbie Race.

Photo: Erle Levey

earns a ticket, there’s a junior boat and a major prize boat.

Once the contest gets under way at 6am on Saturday there are prizes for a variety of fish categories, as well as ages of anglers taking part.

Paddling down the river I see mates working as a team, men with just the company of their dog, fathers showing daughters how to rig a line, mothers watching sons with rod and reel.

At night there’s the chance to sit around the camp fire and swap yarns about the big one they caught... or the even bigger one that got away.

At the final party competitors, friends, family and the Deniliquin community getting together to look back on a great weekend.

There’s music, food even yabbie races in which the fresh-water crustaceans are auctioned and the winner takes all.

Last year the RSL put more than $250,000 back into the community from the various events.

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MENTION the town Deniliquin and most people will ask “where’s that?”

Some will know that’s where they hold the Deni Ute Muster... the largest gathering of utilities and of people wearing blue shearer’s singlets in the world. All in the same place, all at the same time.

It’s held in late September and is a festival to celebrate the country lifestyle.

Yet there’s a lot more to Deni than classic utes, blue singlets and big hats.

And a road trip to this town in the Riverina region of southern New South Wales revealed just what it had to offer.

About three hours drive up from Melbourne and twice that time from Sydney, it sits on the Edward River.

The Edward is an anabranch of the Murray

Big cod, I’m told, tend to be territorial and lazy.

They won’t move up and down the river.

So local knowledge or the ability to look, listen and learn play a big part in fishing the Edward.

This year the Ironjack and Trelly’s Boats And More Fishing Classic runs from Friday to Sunday, February 15-17.

The launch evening is held at the Deni RSL and the final party at the Edward River Oval.

RSL chairman John Jansen told me they now expected close to 2000 anglers to take part.

On top of that you have families and friends helping set up and camp on the river banks or at the caravan parks for the weekend.

As well as trying to catch the $20,000 prized tagged cod, there is the chance to win thousands of dollars worth of items in raffles and draws at the fishing classic launch party including four fishing boats.

There’s a boat for the early bird registrations, then everyone who registers for the classic

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Erle Levey

River that forms the border between Victoria and New South Wales.

That is it branches off from the main river and rejoins it further downstream.

There’s a lot of grain and grazing here. Wheat and rice, sheep and beef.

They also love their fishing... and boating on the river.

February is the Deni Fishing Classic time.

I am kayaking down the Edward. It’s a magnificent way to understand more about the stream that is the lifeblood of the Deniliquin area.

Things take on a different perspective from the water. It’s a relaxed way to get a feel for the place, learn about the history of the region and the environment we are gliding through.

Along the banks, camps are being set up for the fishing classic.

Held in February, it’s a catch-and-release contest with about $80,000 in prizes.

That’s as well as the thrill of catching a good-sized murray cod, the fish that can grow to

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WHY WOULD YOU GO OVERSEAS WHEN THERE’S SO MUCH TO SEE AND DO ACROSS THIS VAST AMAZING COUNTRY?

Images courtesy of Tourism & Events Queensland and Tourism Australia.

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FEBRUARY, 2019// SENIORS

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Beijing’s imperial cuisine is characterised by its elaborate detail

HONG KONG: One of the great cities on the planet showing a ancient history and a vibrant, exciting, non-stop culture show.

Ancient and modern COLOURFUL festivals, big sporting events and new cultural hubs are just some of the reasons to visit Hong Kong this year.

Then there is the fabulous shopping and eating.

Here are some top insider visitor tips:

immersive attractions and exclusive Disney experiences.

EAT

CULTURE

The Xiqu Centre in West Kowloon is a platform for the conservation, promotion and development of Cantonese opera.

The Xiqu Centre in West Kowloon is a platform for the conservation, promotion and development of Cantonese opera and other genres of Xiqu (Chinese traditional theatre) in Hong Kong and beyond. There are performances to enjoy inside the striking building which blends traditional and contemporary elements.

Down at Tsim Sha Tsui the Avenue of Stars has a new collection of celebrity handprints and statues on display.

Visitors will be able to step back in time and relive the successes of past Hong Kong movies, set with the backdrop of the stunning Victoria Harbour.

EXPERIENCE

A traditional performance at the Xiqu Centre.

The Mills project has seen the former textile mills turned into a destination for innovation, business, experiential retail, arts, culture and learning. The former mills have been transformed into a single complex incorporating The Mills Fabrica, The Mills Shopfloor and the Centre for Heritage, Arts and

Textile.

The Peninsula Hong Kong is the first luxury hotel in Hong Kong to offer a trinity of deluxe transportation options – the existing fleet of Rolls-Royce Phantoms, a customised helicopter and now a yacht.

The Sunseeker Manhattan 60 is a 19-metre cruiser that can

carry up to 15 guests each evening on a two-hour evening cruise featuring the Symphony of Lights on the mesmerising Victoria Harbour during the Harbour Sunset Cruise.

Join the grandchildren, or go alone, and step into popular Disney stories at Hong Kong Disneyland Resort. It has new

Japan’s ramen noodle champion Hayashi Takao and a leading specialist in Japan’s national culinary artform, Matsumura Takahiro, have launched Ramen Cubism at a chic basement venue in Wellington St, Central.

Daarukhana, a contemporary concept delivering a new take on Indian food, has opened in Wan Chai. It features lofty interiors while the kitchen shrugs off convention by using ingredients rarely seen in Indian cooking.

Guests can indulge in pairings including chilli honey glazed French langoustine with South Indian beans as well as other culinary innovations.

Former three Michelin Stars chef Bruno Ménard has joined the Junon, a establishment that combines live musical performances with fine-dining cuisine.

Bruno crafts seasonal menus supported by premium quality, fresh

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SENIORS \\FEBRUARY, 2019

The exterior of the Mojo Nomad Central, a new concept in hotel-motel accommodation. Photo: Kevin Mak, Kingymak

HONG KONG: Avenue of Stars, Bruce Lee statue.

Chef Bruno Menard's kitchen, lightly Tasmanian trout, chlorophyll jelly, wasabi.

cooked

The exterior of the new traditional performance space, Xiqu Centre.

Hong Kong ingredients sourced from Hong Kong and around the world.

Mokutan, a Japanese Izakaya, is open in Tsim Sha Tsui at Empire Prestige. It has a repertoire of high-quality, seasonal specialties, highlighting three affordable Omakase menus.

Peking Garden in Star House, Tsim Sha Tsui, is celebrating its 40th anniversary.

It offers dishes inspired

by Beijing’s imperial cuisine, characterised by its elaborate detail and craftsmanship.

Occupying a multi-storey complex in Kowloon City, Sanwa Jo has five master chefs at the helm, the curators of Japanese gastronomic classics sushi, teppanyaki, robatayaki and washoku.

Celebrity Japanese pâtissier-chocolatier Hironobu Tsujiguchi has opened four Super Sweets Galleries in Tsim Sha Tsui, Central, Causeway Bay and Shatin.

The celebrated Iron Chef confectioner introduces a range of his

signature cakes, roll-cakes, desserts, pastries, truffles and chocolates with a French twist.

DRINK

Fans of holistic tea purveyor Basao tea can now enjoy a cuppa of its exceptional single-origin clean-grown brews at the brand’s first dedicated teabar located on Moon St, Wanchai.

Taiwanese drink maestro Angus Zou has partnered up with Tasting Group’s Antonio Lai to unveil the city’s first cocktails on tap bar concept, Draft Land.

SLEEP

Mojo Nomad Central, a ground-breaking concept that turns the traditional hotel model completely on its head, is now open on Queen’s Road Central. It features exceptional food and beverage offerings and 24-hour facilities including a contemporary fitness centre, laundry area and an expertly appointed co-working space.

A mont-blanc cake from Japanese pâtissier-chocolatier Hironobu Tsujiguchi.

The new Rosewood Hotel.

For more information go to The Peninsula Hotel's newest guest experience, a 15-metre powerboat, is available for daily harbour tours. discoverhongkong.com/au.

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FEBRUARY, 2019// SENIORS

GREAT SETUP: Starting your retirement dream of going camping can be fun using these simple tips.

Photos: Tourism and Events Queensland

Many camping areas have toilets.

Photo: Tourism QLD, Larissa Dening

Don’t expect to be able to cook on a camp fire in all locations.

Photo: Tourism QLD, Andrew Tallon

Camping in Queensland’s parks and forests can be comfy.

Photo: Vince Valitutti, QLD Tourism

Don’t rely on lighting powered from car battery or you’ll find your stay extended when the car won’t start.

Tips for camp comfort

CAMPING for seniors who dream of becoming grey nomad campers can seem a little daunting at first, but using these five tips from Queensland Tourism can help them become first-timer happy campers.

1. Swap the power cord for batteries Fact: Camping areas in parks and forests don’t have power.

This means the hair-dryer stays at home.

But that’s fine because everyone else will have camp hair too.

You’ll need battery, gas or solar-powered equipment for lighting, such as torches and lanterns.

And, for mood lighting, nothing beats the gentle glow from a camp fire.

If you are using inflatable mattresses, we suggest a pump that plugs into the 12-volt car battery. Or invest in a self-inflating mattress.

Tip: Don’t rely on lighting powered from the car battery or you’ll find your stay extended when the car won’t start.

Of course, if you simply can’t live without power (if you need the coffee

Pack a few camp chairs. machine in the morning), make sure you book a site where the use of generators is allowed.

2. Cooking in a camp kitchen made easy Fact: No gourmet kitchen facilities here!

But you still have options for cooking up a storm, or even just feeding the troops.

Camp with friends who have all the gear and can cook for you.

That may sound flippant but it’s helpful to camp with others and share equipment.

If that isn’t an option, search for a camp site that has barbecue and picnic facilities so you’ll have a hotplate for cooking, and a table for preparing meals.

Or you can start your

own camp kitchen collection, and purchase a fuel or gas stove for cooking and boiling the billy.

To make camp life easier, prepare meals at home before you go.

Curries, pasta sauces and casseroles all make perfect camp food – simply reheat and cook the accompaniment (rice or spaghetti) in your camp kitchen.

No matter which option you choose, you’ll also need to BYO Esky, cook set and camping tableware and cutlery.

Remember the can opener!

Tip: Don’t rely on a camp fire for cooking – camp fires are not permitted in all camping areas.

3. BYO water on tap Fact: Water coolers not provided.

While some camping areas have tap water at camp sites or in the amenities, tap water in our parks and forests generally isn’t suitable for drinking (without treating).

So you will usually need to bring your own drinking water with you. Simple.

Buy a large refillable water container that has a tap for convenience.

Fill it at home before you leave and there you have it – water on tap.

Bring along personal water bottles, too, if you plan on getting active away from camp.

You’ll also need one or two buckets for collecting water for the washing up.

Buckets are incredibly useful when camping – make sure you’re not caught short of a bucket.

4. Loos with views Fact: Queensland’s parks and forests do have loos (views are optional, but the settings are great).

Many camping areas have toilets – either the normal flush variety or composting or hybrid systems. It’s only when

you really go bush that you’ll need your spade and a toilet roll. Even then, you can BYO portable toilet.

And you don’t necessarily have to do without your shower.

Some camping areas have showers, or cubicles for portable showers if you want to BYO. Of course, if you camp near a river or waterhole, a splash in the shallows (only if safe) will keep you all smelling like roses.

Forget the soap and shampoo though – they’ll harm the water quality.

For a touch of luxury, heat water in the billy and fill a bucket.

Washing face and hands, as the breeze rustles the tree branches above you, and birds call all around you, is the perfect way to start or end your day.

Forget your trendy outdoor shower at home – you get the real deal when camping.

5. BYO deck and deckchairs Fact: Not all camp sites offer shade.

A tent, camper trailer or van is great for sleeping but you need a day shelter

as well. In short, you’ll want your deck.

The solution is to bring your own shade.

Pack a large tarp with tent poles and guy ropes, or a simple a pop-up gazebo with tie-down pegs. Ground sheets to lay beneath the shelter are also useful for keeping the camp site clean.

Tip: Bring a brush and pan. Remember the deck chairs too. Pack a few camp chairs – nice comfy ones with arm rests and drink holders.

Camping in Queensland’s parks and forests can be comfy. With just a little planning, you’ll still enjoy your home comforts – they just come in different (more earthy) guises.

All you need to do now is decide which camp site facilities you need, then jump online to search for camping areas in your region that fit the bill.

When you’re ready, book and pay for your camp site before you go.

For location ideas, go to lifesbestmoments.des. qld.gov.au/landings/ couples-groups.

SENIORS \\FEBRUARY, 2019

FEATURE

21

EYECARE : SPECIAL HEALTH SERIES

SLOWING AMD: Some of the latest AMD treatments may achieve an improvement in a person’s vision or slow down its progression.

Photo: Bill Oxford

Do you think you have macular degeneration?

DISTORTED central vision in one or both eyes can be a sign of the early stages of Age Related Macular Degeneration or AMD. Reading and writing becomes difficult and the faces around you seem to be blurry, while your side vision can still be clear.

It’s the retina in your eye that is being affected.

It’s the light sensitive layer at the back of the eye, like the film in an old-fashioned camera, which is degenerating.

People with the highest risk of acquiring AMD are aged 60 and over, have a family history of AMD or are smokers.

Other risk factors are hypertension, cardiovascular disease, poor diet, lack of exercise

and obesity.

It is unlikely AMD can completely be reversed, but some of the latest treatments may achieve an improvement in a person’s vision or slow down its progression.

Reduce the risk Adjusting the variable risk factors is the first place to start says Optometry Australia’s chief clinical officer Luke Arundel.

“We can’t stop ageing, but smoking is by far the easiest one to modify,” Mr Arundel said.

“Try a diet rich in green leafy vegetables, fish and lots of antioxidants. If your dietary intake is inadequate, consider taking nutritional supplements after

discussing with your GP. “We are all living longer so it’s super important to retain good vision for as long as possible.”

Getting regular eye checks by your optometrist is critical to detecting the onset of AMD and then effectively managing its progression.

Mr Arundel recommends making this a yearly promise to yourself to get checked.

Some of the optometry AMD diagnosis techniques are retinal examination, optical coherence tomography (a machine that can image layers in the retina not visible to the human eye), visual field testing and photographing the retina.

New treatments

There isn’t a cure for AMD, but there is a new AMD management choice.

It’s an injection into the back of the eye to stop new blood vessel growth.

As AMD progresses new blood vessels can start to grow under the retina, and they can leak fluid or blood, causing other problems.

“These new drugs slow down the blood vessels growing,” Mr Arundel said.

In some cases, a person’s vision may improve after this treatment.

Other management choices for the abnormal blood vessels are lasering of the blood vessels to seal them and destroy any that are leaking, and photodynamic therapy

which involves injection of a light-sensitive drug ahead of laser treatment.

“These drugs have been an absolute godsend for some of the more advanced cases of AMD which have been able to be treated,” he said.

“Researchers have also been doing some interesting new work with laser treatment and drops instead of injections.

“There are many clinical trials under way looking at slowing, preventing and reversing the effects of AMD.” Proactive monitoring AMD patients can use an Amsler Grid at home to self-test the state of their condition. An optometrist can provide the grid and

show you how to use it.

“If we see someone with early AMD, we will say you have early signs and these are the things you need to be thinking about – UV protection, ceasing smoking, diet and nutritional supplements,” Mr Arundel said.

“Check at home once a week. While wearing your reading glasses and looking at the grid, cover up one eye and then do the same with the other eye. If you are seeing wavy or distorted lines, go back to your optometrist straight away.

“The earlier we get onto any of these changes with treatment, the better the prognosis.”

For more, go to mdfoundation.com.au.

OPTOMETRY Australia has some tips for reducing your risk of falls: ■ Avoid large changes in your prescription glasses which will change the magnification of objects – their size and their distance. Instead, get a regular eye check-up – yearly for over 65s – so that your prescription changes gradually.

■ Tell your optometrist what glasses you use and if you have any vision problems when walking.

■ If you don’t feel

confident while while walking, use single vision glasses.

■ Avoid walking while wearing bi-focal or multi-focal glasses. The problem is the segment in the bottom part of these glasses is set for specific focal length. When you go walking the area that you are looking through to help you step will be out of focus. Instead, ask your optometrist for single vision, distance glasses.

■ If you do go walking while wearing bi-focals or

multi-focal glasses, tuck your chin in so you are looking through the top part of your glasses as you approach steps and stairways.

People with cataracts are more prone to falls as their eyes become cloudy.

Optometry Australia’s chief clinical officer Luke Arundel recommends those people should have cataract removal surgery as soon as possible to reduce their risk of falls.

Go to optometry.org.au.

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Tips to help you avoid misstepping, tripping and even taking a fall

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WELLBEING

FEBRUARY, 2019// SENIORS

Awareness is important

Some key signs an older person may require support BRAND INSIGHTS CATCH-UPS with old friends and relatives are a great way to stay in touch but they can also serve as a way to check on health and wellbeing, according to Queensland aged care provider Ozcare.

Ozcare’s Dementia Services State Co-ordinator Karen Constant said aged care providers often receive the most calls for assistance from family members and friends who notice changes in ability for a person they care about.

Key signs an older person may need support: ■ What is the person eating and drinking – is there food in the fridge and cupboards; are these nearly empty or packed with spoiled food? What fluid is the person consuming? Check out if they are drinking enough water.

■ Has the person’s appearance changed? Or is the house uncharacteristically looking a little dishevelled? Does the shower and laundry look as though it is being used?

■ Is the person still involved in their old hobbies (for example reading, gardening, playing cards, going out with friends) or have they become socially isolated?

■ Is the person still able to make themselves a cup of tea and can they put together a meal for themselves? This is always a simple sign if people can follow instructions, or if they still plan and organise their day-to-day needs. Look for mail piling up around the letterbox, missed appointments or complaints about lost items.

■ Check out medications – are they being taken correctly and at the right time, are they being forgotten or is the dosage being doubled because the person is not sure if it has been taken or not?

Ms Constant says while noticing changes can be difficult, any conversations people have with loved ones about any perceived troubles need to be approached with care.

“You need to enjoy your catch-up first and subtly keep an eye out for changes,” Ms Constant said.

HANDLE WITH CARE: While noticing changes can be difficult, any conversations people have with loved ones about any perceived troubles need to be approached with care.

“Enjoy your loved one’s stories and company, respect their right for choice and independence – but don’t take a ‘big brother’ attitude in which you’re seen to be watching every move.

“This will only get the person off side “The idea would be not to use negative statements like ‘Look how dirty this laundry is.

Haven’t you been cleaning it? Are you still showering? You are not using your medication correctly...’

“A better approach would be just to sit down with them on the couch and ask about how their day normally goes.

“If you are concerned, you may be able to touch base with their GP in consultation with the

person.”

A GP will not be able to divulge any personal information, but you may visit the GP and express your concerns.

You need to be open and honest.

It could be just a matter of getting some sort of small service started.

“If you need to find out more or are just simply worried, you can talk to

Ozcare.”

Ozcare can wrap an experienced care team around a person to help them go forward – carers, nurses, dementia specialists and allied health professionals.

For more information, phone 1800 Ozcare (1800 692 273) or go to ozcare.org.au.

Peer support changing bowel cancer experience Tracey Johnstone IN ONE life he is an expert risk manager and in another Victorian Bobby McKeown is a reluctant expert on the impact of bowel cancer.

He’s been through the journey twice.

As a result, Bobby, 64, has come out with what he describes as “peculiar” allergies, particularly when it comes to food. Onions is one example.

It’s amazing how many foods contain onion or onion flavouring.

It’s his willingness to be open about his treatments and their outcomes, like his food allergies, that has led Bobby to become a vocal supporter of the work of Bowel Cancer Australia, and to volunteering with its Peer-to-Peer Support Network.

The informal network connects patients with similar treatment pathways so they can support each other and family members through the physical and mental trauma of this cancer, and help to raise awareness of bowel cancer and funds to assist BCA’s work.

“They (BCA) put me with a mentor, someone who was further along the line than me. I was talking with that guy on quite a regular basis and it was really good,” Bobby said.

“You can talk to all the nurses and doctors that you like.

“But until you talk to somebody whose actually been there and done that, it’s still very theoretical.

“You don’t know if what is happening to you is normal.

“So, just to get that confirmation and to get advice on how they overcame a certain situation, I found it very

good.”

Bobby has taken that experience into the conversations he now has with other bowel cancer patients.

He’s currently supporting a fellow, called John, who he meets in Sydney once a month when he is there on business.

“The problems he has and the similarity to the problems I had mean that we get on like a house on fire,” Bobby said.

“We both like it because we can both talk quite openly.”

While Bobby has been clear for three years, John’s cancer has come back for a third time.

Bobby is determined to remain by John’s side.

Sometimes Bobby finds his peer contacts very reluctant to talk.

But once he explains that he has “been there, experienced that” the conversation often opens up to become valuable to the patient.

PEER SUPPORT: Bowel cancer patient and Peer-to-Peer Support Network volunteer, Bobby McKeown.

Keeping well while remaining very busy with his work and volunteering is a challenge for Bobby.

He visits a psychiatrist regularly to help him deal with what he calls his “guilt trips”. “There are two sides to this,” Bobby said.

“Sometimes it’s ‘why me’ and then sometimes it’s ‘poor me’.”

He also survives on tablets, some 20 of them each day. His food allergies have forced him onto a White Diet – all white food – because he can’t handle fibre.

And now he’s a diabetic.

Through all this Bobby is upbeat and remains enthusiastic about supporting the “great

work” being done by the team at BCA. He wants other bowel cancer patients to put up their hands to volunteer for the support network.

Like Bobby, that person will probably find the support will end up going both ways.

Info: bowelcancer australia.org.au

SENIORS \\FEBRUARY, 2019

WELLBEING

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24

LIVING

FEBRUARY, 2019// SENIORS

Support you can count on BRAND INSIGHTS COLLEEN Maynard has several reasons why she shouldn’t be living independently.

Fortunately, she also has a very simple reason why she is.

“There is no way I could continue to live on my own without Feros Care,” the 79-year-old says of the not-for-profit organisation that provides her with crucial in-home support courtesy of a government-funded Home Care Package.

“I had my hips and both my knees replaced about 12 years ago and the doctor said I needed some help.

“Back then I would just get a cleaner once a fortnight but these days they help with so many things.

“A cleaner drops by once a week, the gardener visits every fortnight and then there are the big jobs they tackle once or twice a

year like cleaning the carpets and windows and blasting the footpath.

“Someone even comes to give me a pedicure every six weeks. I’m properly spoiled.”

Colleen is like so many Australian seniors in that she loves where she lives and is in no rush to move into assisted living or a nursing home.

That said, she is realistic enough to know she needs a little help and with that help comes peace of mind.

“Feros has even set me up with a personal alarm and you don’t know how grateful I am for that,” says Colleen.

“I’ve had two very bad falls and having that alarm around my neck was so important.

“It just let Feros know I was in trouble and they sent someone straight away.

“Then there’s the care they’ve given me after stints in hospital – oh, it’s absolutely wonderful.

“I just let them know

Living

I’m going in and they know exactly what I’ll need when I come out.

“Every day someone came to shower me, do a bit of house work and water the garden before heading off.

“Then they would pop back in the afternoon to turn my bed down and clean any dishes I’d used during the day.

“They even organised for a physiotherapist to visit when I needed it.”

Colleen knows the day will come when she has to reconsider her living arrangements.

For now though, that day is a long way away thanks to a handful of special people she looks forward to hearing knock on her door.

Senior Australians can apply for a government-funded Home Care Package worth up to $49,500 a year.

Phone 1300 763 583 or go to feroscare.com.au/ feelright.

INDEPENDENT: Colleen is like so many Australian seniors in that she loves where she lives and is in no rush to move into assisted living or a nursing home. Photo: Asley Roach

A fresh start for aged care in Aust IT’S here –the one-stop Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission has opens its doors.

A website, agedcarequality.gov.au, and a single phone number for aged-care concerns and queries 1800 951 822 are now active.

Senior Australians and Aged Care Minister Ken Wyatt AM said the new commission was a landmark aged care reform and targetted sub-standard care and ensured the safety and security of senior Australians.

“With the motto ‘Engage, Empower and Safeguard’, the commission flags a new beginning for aged-care quality and safety,” Mr Wyatt said.

“A single commissioner overseeing compliance monitoring, complaints and customer service means no more silos.

“For the first time, senior Australians and their loved ones have one place to go when they need help, want to raise a concern, or access information about an aged-care service.

“In another first, the

AGED CARE: the commission flags a new beginning for aged-care quality and safety.

Photo: FredFroese

commission includes a new chief clinical adviser to oversee quality care delivery across the nation.

“The commission will also be empowered by the new aged-care charter of rights and will implement

the new, stronger set of Aged Care Quality Standards, the first upgrade of standards in

20 years.”

The commission has a budget of about $300 million over four years, with about $48 million to be used to continue increasing compliance checks and risk management, including the employment of dozens of new compliance officers and developing options for a Serious Incident Response Scheme.

The inaugural Aged Care Quality and Safety Commissioner Janet Anderson said she was delighted to open the new commission for business and was ready for strong engagement with senior Australians, their families and aged-care providers.

“Our key focus will be on safeguarding the more than 1.3 million senior Australians who receive some form of aged-care service,” Ms Anderson said.

“The commission’s vision is to support a world-class aged-care service driven by empowered consumers who enjoy the best possible quality of life.

“In recent weeks I have met with staff transitioning to the new

commission from the former Australian Aged Care Quality Agency and the former Aged Care Complaints Commissioner, and I know they are totally committed to quality care.

“Our new website has also been carefully designed and tested to ensure it is user-friendly, with easily searchable information for consumers and providers.”

Website includes details on: ■ Aged care consumer rights.

■ Access to free advocacy services to support senior Australians.

■ Consumer Experience Reports about individual aged-care services.

■ Access to audit reports on aged-care homes.

■ How to register complaints, including tips on documenting concerns.

■ New resources to help providers meet the standards.

Contact:The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission: 1800 951 822 or by visiting the website agedcarequality.gov.au.

SENIORS \\FEBRUARY, 2019

25

Looking ahead at your super Bruce Brammall WITHOUT what seems an unlikely bounce in asset prices, there’s probably not a lot of joy for DIY super trustees looking into their crystal balls for this year.

And let’s face it, few are predicting a rebound in any growth assets this year, with property prices likely to continue to slide and shares showing no promise.

So, what’s in store for 2019 for SMSFs? Banking Royal Commission Results from the royal commission are due this month.

There are likely to be significant structural changes to parts of the industry that will impact on everyone’s super and, in some cases, specifically for SMSFs. Those areas are superannuation, insurance and lending

products.

While this is most likely going to impact the major institutions and their intermediaries (financial advisers and mortgage brokers) the most, there will be inevitable flow-on for all.

While Hayne’s interim report was out in November, it will be political reaction to the final report that will be most likely But it will be the reaction and promises from the political parties to the final report where the real impacts come for consumers, including SMSFs. Federal Election Labor has several policies specifically designed to hurt both SMSFs and those who traditionally use SMSFs (wealthier Australians).

There’s the banning of franking credit refunds and a possible increase in capital gains tax for super funds.

But Labor has recently reiterated their intentions to reduce the threshold at which Australians must pay an extra 15 per cent tax on super contributions,to $200,000.

It also opposes the five-year catch-up provisions. These allow members to put extra into super if they didn’t fully use their $25,000 concessional contributions limits in previous years.

And it proposes to reduce the non-concessional contribution limit further, from $100,000 to $75,000.

The reduction in the CGT discount from 50 per cent to 25 per cent will hit traditional SMSF trustees in their personal names, but Labor is not intending to adjust the current 1/3 reduction for SMSFs themselves.

Similarly, the removal of negative gearing

provisions (except for new property) is also likely to hit SMSF trustees in their personal names hardest.

This is also likely to impact SMSFs, but less so.

LRBA loans With the departure of the major lenders from the LRBA market through last year, interest rates from the remaining providers have been trending slightly upwards.

Contrary to some commentary, however, LRBAs are not dead. The second and third-tier lenders that remain are likely to now be able to get some scale from a less fragmented market. This might actually have a medium-term positive impact on competition in the market.

However, there remains a possibility that LRBAs could be banned.

Three-year audits for SMSFs off the table?

In last year’s budget, the government

Money

YEAR AHEAD: What's in store for 2019 for SMSFs?

Photo: MartinPrescott

announced that it would allow SMSFs with a good audit history to move to having audits every three years, instead of every year.

It is now widely speculated that the government doesn’t have time to get this legislation through the parliament, considering the very limited number of sitting days before the election.

Asset returns looking shaky Figures out in recent days confirm returns for most super funds with diversified investments were likely to be sitting very close to 0 per cent for the 2018 calendar year.

What’s on the radar for this year? Few are predicting any return to strong gains in the growth markets of shares and property, domestically or internationally.

Certainly, direct residential property looks almost certain to record further falls in Sydney and Melbourne.

But often, market corrections are simply buying opportunities for the patient.

Bruce Bammel is a columnist for InvestSMART. www.investsmart.com.au To read the full report, go to seniorsnews. com.au.

Your financial specialists in life Our one purpose, the reason we exist, is to help each of our clients GET MORE out of life.

RetireInvest Wide Bay has been providing exceptional financial advice and services to the local communities of Bundaberg, Hervey Bay, Maryborough and surrounding areas for over 22 years. If you are: • Planning retirement or already retired • Wanting to make the most of your retirement income • Receiving an inheritance and looking for objective advice • Looking to optimise Centrelink/DVA pension benefit Call us today! We are offering a 1 hour complimentary meeting to discuss your plans, what is important to you and how you want to live your ideal life!

Phone 1800 634 378 to book an appointment and receive a copy of our ‘How to Retire Successfully’ e-book.

• • • • • • • •

Retirement Planning Wealth Accumulation SMSFs & Superannuation Lifetime Income Streams Investing in the Share Market Aged Care Estate Planning Life, Trauma & Income Protection Insurance

*Kathy Paget CFP®, DipFP

*Genevieve de Szoeke Adv DipFS (FP)

Phone: 1800 634 378 | Email: info@riwidebay.com.au | Website: www.riwidebay.com.au | Facebook: RetireInvest Wide Bay *Authorised Representative of RI Advice Group Pty Ltd ABN 23 001 774 125, AFSL 238429 This information, including taxation, does not consider your personal circumstances and is general advice only. You should not act on any recommendation without considering your personal circumstances and objectives. RI Advice Group recommends you obtain professional financial advice specific to your circumstances.

ADVICE

26

FEBRUARY, 2019// SENIORS

To advertise, call 1300 136 181 or visit finda.com.au Buy & Sell

Property

Food & Beverage

Retirement Living

We are registered with My Aged Care, all Home Care Package providers and NDIS, and are your local community organisation delivering meals for up to 7 days a week.

• Fresh meals cooked daily • Alternative combinations (including sandwiches) are available and priced accordingly, • Excellent value for money, Dietary requirements catered for.

• Seasonal menus with balanced, healthy and nutritious meals • Meals can be cut up or vitamised if necessary, • Delivered to your door with a smile by our friendly volunteers, Eftpos now available.

Please call one of our friendly staff at Hervey Bay (4128 1334) or Maryborough (4121 4297) to arrange a delivery or chat about your requirements. Monday to Friday 8am to 3pm.

6895721ae

SEACHANGE/ DOWNSIZING?

Motoring

Ph 0467 042 989

Caravans & Motor Homes

CARAVANS WANTED

Trades & Services All Services

All caravans wanted We come to you All areas, Cash today!

Ph: 4129 7132 | M: 0427 297 132 E: rossbuscharters@bigpond.com 1197 Bidwill Road, Maryborough

Phone 07 3812 3553 04188 76395

www.ganddrossbuscharters.com.au

Great Western

PLAY & STAY - MUSICAL TOUR A GREAT CHANCE TO SEE THE OUTBACK LIKE YOU’VE NEVER SEEN IT BEFORE. COUNTRY MUSIC BY 12 ARTISTS.

• Custom design & conversion service • Tailored to suit all budgets • Quality work from qualified and respected cabinet makers

2 Comet Street, Maryborough Mob 0409 884 973 armstongscrew@bigpond.com

Hervey Bay gated retirement village, heart of Pialba - walk to everything.

Stand alone, 2 brm villa, enclosed secure carport, back ramp, all mod cons, nothing to spend, peaceful oasis, 100% yours - no exit fees, $210,000. Weekly site fee attracts rental assistance if eligible.

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Cars

BEWARE OF SCAMS

Buyers and sellers should be cautious of possible scams when buying or selling a vehicle.

Buyers should be cautious when dealing with car sellers that are overseas and should always arrange to view the vehicle prior to the transfer of any money.

More information is available at scamwatch.gov.au

6546920aa

Be wary if the number in the ad is disconnected.

If the buyer/seller says the number is disconnected because they are overseas, ask for a landline phone number at their current location as well as a mobile phone number.

All contact details of the person buying or selling the car should be verified to ensure they are genuine.

Selling Your Electronics?

Advertise for FREE* www.finda.com.au *Excludes business advertisers. Conditions apply.

Open for Sale.

Always be clear and open about a vehicle’s history. This Motoring tip brought to you by www.finda.com.au

TRAVEL TIPS: Savvy travellers should check just some of this year's new rewards credit card deals, airline cabin upgrades and new airport lounges to choose from.

Photo: Wavebreakmedia Ltd

Get the best out of your travel in 2019

TRAVELLERS who work hard to collect frequent flyer points should be on top of the nine travel deals coming up in 2019.

There are new rewards credit card deals, airline cabin upgrades and new airport lounges to choose from.

Australia’s online community of frequent flyers, Point Hacks, has compiled this top airline and rewards products list which travellers can anticipate during the year.

1. Complimentary return flights and 80,000 bonus points through the ANZ Travel Adventure Card: Point Hacks has an exclusive offer for the ANZ Travel Adventure Card which gives new cardholders 80,000 bonus Velocity Points, in addition to the regular benefits of a complimentary return domestic flight with Virgin Australia and two single-entry Virgin Australia lounge passes each year.

2. Up to 120,000 bonus points on the ANZ Frequent Flyer Black Visa and Westpac Altitude Black cards: The ANZ offers new cardholders 120,000 bonus Qantas Points, 75 bonus status credits, $150 back to your new card, two Qantas Club lounge passes and complimentary insurances. Westpac offers up to 120,000 Qantas or Altitude Points on sign up – 80,000 bonus points on the Mastercard and 40,000 on the American Express – when customers spend

a minimum of $3000 on each card within 90 days of being approved.

3. Multimillion-dollar upgrade at Qantas’ Sydney International Business Lounge: The Qantas’ Sydney International Business Lounge features a new Neil Perry-designed dining experience, full-service bar, dedicated family zone, and at least 30 per cent more seating. The upgrade will be completed at the end of 2019.

4. Premium Entry at Virgin Australia’s Melbourne Airport domestic terminal: Due to open in mid-2019, business class as well as Platinum and Gold Velocity Frequent Flyer members will have premium entry at the airline’s Melbourne Airport domestic terminal.

There will be a dedicated security screening point ahead of the lounge, and areas for check in and bag drop for premium travellers.

5. New Qantas first class lounge in Singapore: Changi Airport is the venue for a new multi-million-dollar Qantas First Lounge which will offer seating for 240 customers with premium a la carte dining Asian-inspired menus, a cocktail bar, shower facilities and an open kitchen. The existing Qantas Business Lounge will also be expanded to add at least 50 seats.

6. Premium cabins in Qantas Airbus A380 to get multi-million-dollar revamp: Qantas Airbus

A380 will undergo a major cabin upgrade to improve comfort on long-haul flights to the US, Europe and Asia. All 12 aircraft will be upgraded by the end of 2020.

7. Mega-facility terminal at Abu Dhabi International Airport: Aussies travelling on Etihad will soon have a better travel experience during connections, with Abu Dhabi International Airport opening its new state-of-the-art terminal Midfield Terminal by late 2019.

8. US airlines launching premium economy cabin: American Airlines, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines will each launch premium economy cabins across selected flights to Australia.

9. $300 million Gold Coast Airport terminal expansion: It’s undergoing a multi-million-dollar upgrade that will see a new three-level terminal adjacent to the southern end of the airport, advanced facial recognition systems and full-glass panels for more natural light. Also, travellers requiring rest can soon stay at the new $50 million four-star Rydges hotel that will open near the airport’s major terminal this year.

Point Hacks spokesperson Daniel Sciberras said his team are always on the lookout for the best offers and new products.

■ For more travel deal tips, go to pointhacks .com.au.

SENIORS \\FEBRUARY, 2019

G E N E R A L K N O W L E D G E

1

2

3

7

4

5

6

8 9

10 11 12

13 14 15

16

Across 1 What is a condition attached to an agreement? (7) 4 What word can precede shift, owl and school? (5) 7 What usually semicircular part of a church may have a domed roof? (4) 8 Who features in an 1855 Longfellow poem? (8) 10 A 2005 study showed that players of which instrument suffer less snoring and sleep apnoea? (10) 12 Danzig is the German name for which port? (6) 13 Norway is famous for what sea inlets? (6) 15 Which city has a famous Little Mermaid statue? (10) 18 What common flying thing is a Musca domestica? (8) 19 What is an upright timber in a wall? (4) 20 What infectious viral disease causes swelling of the salivary glands? (5) 21 What style of architecture and furniture was popular in Britain at the end of the 18th Century? (7)

17 18

19

20

PUZZLES

27

Down 1 What rectangular length of tartan is worn over the shoulder as part of the Scottish Highland dress? (5) 2 What hard, dark, glass-like rock is formed in rapid lava solidification? (8) 3/4 Who played Sandy in the 1978 film Grease? (6,6-4) 5 What is the arrangement of slots in which the gear lever of a motor vehicle moves? (4) 6 What everyday items began inadvertently as a salesman’s silk-bound samples? (3,4) 9 Which great US athlete did Hitler snub supposedly because of his colour? (5,5) 11 Where did Margaret Thatcher survive a bomb attack in 1984? (8) 12 What cotton cloth typically has a checked pattern? (7) 14 Which astronomer of the early 1600s (Johannes ___) formulated the three laws of planetary motion, still valid today? (6) 16 Which character has a bell on his hat and drives a Morris Minor convertible? (5) 17 Which of the Mariana Islands is a territory of the United States? (4)

9/2

21

SUDOKU

Fill the grid so every column, every row and 3x3 box contains the digits 1 to 9.

QUICK CROSSWORD 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

5x5

ALPHAGRAMS

Insert the missing letters to make ten words — five reading across the grid and five reading down.

Solve the anagrams. Each solution is a one-word anagram of the letters beside it, and the five solutions are sequential.

For example, if the fiveletter solution starts with J, the six-letter solution starts with K, and so on.

S

9

A L

10

11

12

13

15

19

16

20

17

21

O

N

14

T M

18

S E

DEBIT LOCUST NOT DEAD LATRINES I FIRE GUNS

T

R

S

T

Note: more than one solution may be possible.

22

SOLUTIONS 23

acquit ACQUITTAL alit aquatic atilt attic cattail laic quail quilt quit tacit tail tilt

WORD GO ROUND

S W E E T

QUICK CROSSWORD Across: 7. Par excellence 8. Defender 9. Norm 10. Credit 12. Inroad 14. Rue 15. Debate 17. Sparse 19. Loop 21. Stubborn 23. Steamrollered.

Down: 1. Carefree 2. Behead 3. Acid 4. Flurries 5. Keener 6. Scar 11. Treasure 13. Assorted 16. Appear 18. Ambled 20. Oath 22. Ugly.

Find a finished crossword by deleting one of the two letters in each divided square.

Solution opposite

BLACKOUT

ALPHAGRAMS: BIDET, CLOUTS, DONATED, ENTRAILS, FIGURINES.

DOUBLE CROSS

T O R T E

C T

How many words of four letters or more can you make? Each letter must be used only once and all words must contain the centre letter. There is at least one nine-letter word.

No words starting with a capital are allowed, no plurals ending in s unless the word is also a verb.

TODAY: Good 8 Very Good 10 Excellent 12

Q T

A L T O S

621

WORD GO ROUND

C L I M E

I

SUDOKU

5x5

S A N E R

A U

A L

Down 1. Unworried (8) 2. Decapitate (6) 3. Sour (4) 4. Sudden swirls (8) 5. More fervent (6) 6. Cicatrice (4) 11. Cherish (8) 13. Various (8) 16. Arrive (6) 18. Strolled (6) 20. Solemn promise (4) 22. Unattractive (4)

GK CROSSWORD Across: 1 Proviso, 4 Night, 7 Apse, 8 Hiawatha, 10 Didgeridoo, 12 Gdansk, 13 Fjords, 15 Copenhagen, 18 Housefly, 19 Stud, 20 Mumps, 21 Regency.

Down: 1 Plaid, 2 Obsidian, 3/4 Olivia Newton-John, 5 Gate, 6 Tea bags, 9 Jesse Owens, 11 Brighton, 12 Gingham, 14 Kepler, 16 Noddy, 17 Guam.

Across 7. Better than all others (3,10) 8. Protector (8) 9. Average (4) 10. Acknowledgement (6) 12. Progress (6) 14. Regret (3) 15. Formal discussion (6) 17. Thin (6) 19. Circle (4) 21. Obstinate (8) 23. Flattened (13)

H A C H E S B D T S B E G E T

D W D Y K H L R V L R D G Y F

P L A G U E B O B S C U R E D

U H F I H R C P X O R C G S I

S I T E B B O O T H K A L O E

O M B N C E K U U M P T I R O

I P L E A T V T A G G E D E N

U J Y D L E O K C I Z J U U U

S W A L L O W O L R E S E A T

R A S A J B I S Y L B O I N A

A X I S P O N C E Q X J O G Q

K W J S Z L H A E A R O V E U

G O M B S I N G K S Q U A L L

F R C B Y V X E H K L R C I B

A K E E P E R K F S O N I C Y

BLACKOUT

Work out which squares need to be deleted to reveal a completed crossword.

Solution opposite

DOUBLE CROSS

P U S S A W L I M P W A C A T L A H Y G I E N E L A E U A L L S H E R B E T O O W I O U T T A H G I R L E A T E S O L D E O R E A N E N U T

D R O P B S O B C E D U C G R E Y E S T

A X W O R I S S S O L I V N N C A G E E A S K Q J O U R O A G E L I L

S O N I C K E E P E R

28

WIDE BAY

FEBRUARY, 2019// SENIORS Heather & Don, Carlyle Gardens residents

Retire by the beach in beautiful Bargara this year Experience the laidback, maintenance-free lifestyle you deserve when you make the move to the welcoming, beachside community at Carlyle Gardens in Bargara.

The village is perfectly located just 15 minutes from Bundaberg, is within easy reach of shops and restaurants, and offers exclusive community facilities for you to enjoy.

A superb range of one-, two- and three-bedroom independent living villas from just $219,000* is available now.

Come along to our open houses or call us today to arrange a personal tour.

Downsize in style

OPEN HOUSES FEB

FEB

FEB

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

14

Independent Living Villa 304 2

$260,000*

1

1

15

10am to 2pm all days

16

3 Carlyle Court, Bargara

Relax in this beautiful coastal villa, ideally located close to community centre and picturesque lake.

Come along and:

• Beautifully refurbished • Separate toilet

• View a fantastic range of properties

• Spacious open plan living • Plenty of storage

• Tour the village facilities

On offer at Carlyle Gardens: Community centre with bar & BBQ Billiards, croquet & bowls Community garden Caravan & boat storage

• Meet our friendly staff and residents • Enjoy a complimentary morning tea All welcome – see you there!

We are open Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm. Weekends by appointment.

Swimming pool Library, workshop & more!

Carlyle Gardens RETIREMENT VILLAGE AT BARGARA *Prices correct at time of printing.

1300 68 77 38 | 3 Carlyle Court, Bargara retireaustralia.com.au/carlylegardens