Retired public servants in Canberra have called on the ACT government to widen bus travel concessions to those aged 65 years old and ensure older residents of the national capital do not face a potential massive hike in annual water supply fees.
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The group that represents about 2400 retired federal bureaucrats, the ACT branch of Superannuated Commonwealth Officers' Association, has called for the ACT's ACTION Gold Card to be extended to those aged 65 and older.
It has also urged the government rule out any potential changes to ACT's water tariff structures that could lead to a potential $500 hike in annual water supply charges, which the association has labelled "regressive", a proposal Chief Minister Andrew Barr has himself criticised.
SCOA ACT president John Blount said while he was in a relatively stronger position than other retired public servants, there were many being forced to draw on full or part pensions who were struggling to afford basic amenities, from utility bills to public transport costs.
He said the association's 2016-17 budget submission was "not asking for hand-outs, but rather facilitating access to things and having only a nominal cost for older people and others in need".
Mr Blount said while he backed the government's move last year to expand access to the bus travel concessions to those aged 70 and older, compared to those only 75 years old or older the previous year, there was a case for it to be further expanded.
"It's not just a question of money for our members, but really a question of encouraging older people on fixed incomes to be active, to get out of the house, live longer and be less of a burden on the health system," he said.
"We know the social and health benefits of ensuring older people can be out in the community and active and we'd like to see more done in this area."
Mr Blount said gardening was "probably the number one activity" among former public servants in Canberra and the cost of water was a "significant and worrying issue" for retirees.
"We know about the psychological effects on mental health of gardening, it's being used in psychiatric hospitals and aged care homes and it helps connect people to both healthy foods and others socially," he said.
"A lot of our members are gardeners and while we do our best to conserve water and resources, we would be concerned if we were hit by any major increase in supply bills."
The association's submission to the territory's budget said the were specifically concerned about a potentially "regressive" proposal outlined that could "make it relatively dearer for small household users and cheaper for large industrial users".
That proposal forms part of a review of tariff structures underway by the Independent Competition and Regulatory Commission, which is also this year separately reviewing the water prices themselves, after the tariff structure review is completed.
The association also urged the government to address delays in and a "lack of funding" in home and community accommodation programs, that the territory government lobby the Commonwealth to increase indexation of ComSuper pensions, a move which Mr Blount understood was unlikely to change the Turnbull government's position.
It also called for more improvements to footpath provision, rubbish collections and the development of a mature age employment strategy within government.
A spokesman for the government said it would be "following through" with an election pledge to conduct a year-long trial of "free bus travel" for all concession card holders during "off-peak travel", which began this week, but it is unclear if that trial would be extended to those aged 65 to 70 years old.
He said the government also "does not set water prices" and it "would encourage all groups to be involved in future consultations" run by the commission "in the months ahead".
