Concession Card
Respect Older People in the Community
ACT Seniors Card
ACT Seniors related information
Affordable essential services
ACT Ministerial Advisory Council on Ageing
The 2012-13 Ministerial Advisory Council on Ageing was appointed in February 2012.
The Council provides strategic advice to the Minister for Ageing on issues affecting older citizens in the ACT.
The Council had a key role in developing the ACT Strategic Plan for Positive Ageing 2010-2014: Towards an Age-Friendly City and continues to provide advice on its implementation.
The Office for Ageing provides the Council’s secretariat. If you have a query about the Council, please contact the Office for Ageing on (02) 6205 0749 or send an email to communitypolicy@act.gov.au.
Membership
[Caption:] From left to right: Ms Meredith Whitten (Community Services Directorate), Ms Brenda Newham, Ms Chin Wong, Ms Viola Kalokerinos, Mr David Lawrance, Ms Nancy Edwards, Ms Laurayne Bowler, Mr Adrian Roberts OAM, Prof Kaarin Anstey, Mr Ian Trewhella AM, Mr Kevin Vassarotti, Mr Maurice Sexton OAM and Ms Joy Burch MLA, Minister for Ageing.
Mr David Lawrance
Ms Viola Kalokerinos
Prof Kaarin Anstey
Ms Laurayne Bowler
Ms Nancy Edwards
Ms Brenda Newham
Mr Adrian Roberts OAM
Mr Maurice Sexton OAM
Mr Ian Trewhella AM
Mr Kevin Vassarotti
Ms Meredith Whitten
Ms Chin Wong
Mr David Lawrance
The Chair of the current Council, Mr Lawrance is the President of Palliative Care ACT. He spent 26 years in Government working in Canberra, Darwin and offshore Australian Territories where he worked on a wide range of program and policy areas. His recent career has involved mentoring and mediation consultancy work. He is a former ACT Tourism Commissioner and former Chairman of the Australian Standing Committee on Tourism.
Ms Viola Kalokerinos
Ms Kalokerinos has been a Canberra resident for over 35 years, since migrating to the capital from Kythera, Greece, in 1975. Viola co-owned and managed The Curtin Milk Bar for over thirty three years together with her late husband Vince, and continued managing the business after his death in 2003 until 2008. Working at the Milk Bar, Ms Kalokerinos would serve older members of our community every day, and listen to their concerns, and help contribute to a safer and happier suburb.
She first began volunteering in the 1980s, for the Greek Orthodox Community and Church of Canberra and the Kytherian Brotherhood of Canberra, and then in the 1990s with the St Nicholas Home for the Aged (Kingston). Hearing and responding to the experiences and advice of residents of the Home developed her interest in positive ageing in Australia.
Since retiring from full-time work in 2008, Ms Kalokerinos has broadened her community work and commitment to positive ageing by volunteering for, and being a member of, other associations that promote an age-inclusive community such as Woden Seniors Inc.
In addition to her role on the Ministerial Advisory Council on Ageing, she also represents Canberrans on a range of committees, councils and boards, including the Queen Elizabeth II Family Centre Society Board (currently Vice President), L’Arche Genesaret, a local disability organisation, the Multicultural Seniors’ Network and the Bendigo Community Bank (Curtin) Steering Committee.
Prof Kaarin Anstey
Professor Anstey is the Director of the new Centre for Research on Ageing, Health and Wellbeing (formerly the Centre for Mental Health Research), ANU. She has extensive research experience in the area of cognitive ageing and dementia, and she supervised the 2011 Canberra Age-Friendly City Survey.
Ms Laurayne Bowler
Laurayne Bowler is involved in a number of community organisations including the National Council of Women of the ACT (which represents a wide range of women’s organisations), Soroptimist International of Canberra and various organisations of the Anglican Church. This provides her with access to a variety of views and experiences.
Laurayne has qualifications in both law and pharmacy and has worked extensively, both nationally and internationally, at senior levels in various areas of health, particularly drug regulation. Her international experience includes close liaison with the United Nations International Drug Control Program over a number of years and as a temporary consultant to the World Health Organisation on several occasions. More recently, after 5 years retirement, Laurayne returned to work to assist in the establishment of the Australian National Preventive Health Agency.
Ms Nancy Edwards
Born in Katoomba NSW, she completed her school Leaving Certificate in 1944 before commencing nurse training at the Blue Mountains District Hospital, transferring to Marrickville Hospital, Sydney, as a 4th year student nurse when she married in 1949. She has worked as a Community Nurse in the Bathurst, Bowral and Katoomba areas of NSW. On coming to Canberra in 1961 with her postmaster husband and four children, she joined the staff of Canberra Hospital in July 1961 as a Nurse's Aid, on permanent night duty, in order to care for a young family.
In 1967 she enrolled at ANU to commence a Bachelor of Arts Degree but deferred University when encouraged to recommence a General Nurse Certificate Course in 1968. Graduating as a Registered Nurse in 1972, she recommenced University studies in Biochemistry, Sociology, and Education at ANU and CCAE, graduating in 1979 after part-time studies and working as an RN in Canberra Hospital, and teaching at Woden Valley Hospital School of Nursing.
After graduation she received a National Health and Medical Research Council Traveling Health Scholarship to research aspects of ageing in modern Western societies. She spent eight months investigating the political social and fiscal policies in the USA, Canada, the Netherlands, Germany and the UK related to the care and welfare of the aged in these ageing populations.
Returning to Australia, she specialised in post basic studies for RNs in Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra, finally initiating, coordinating, and lecturing in the hospital based Gerontological Nursing Course for RNs at Woden Valley Hospital School of Nursing. She retired from hospital services in 1991 but continued as a consultant in aged care.
In 1994 she co-founded RAPS (Retirees Activity Programs) and in September 1995 she commenced the circuit classes for over 50s at Southern Cross Health and Fitness, which is still going strong after 16 years.
Ms Brenda Newham
Ms Newham has been a resident of Canberra for 30 years, has a daughter in Canberra, a son in Sydney and 8 grandchildren.
She has over 50 years working experience across a number of industries including Health (as a general nurse in accident and emergency), in Hospitality (twice as a hotel licensee), and the Security Industry, where she has been a Director at Custom Security Services Pty Ltd (CSS) for over 20 years, which includes holding the Master Security Licenses for all states of Australia.
Ms Newham has represented the Security Industry of the ACT on the Canberra Criminal Justice Committee, and has held several committee positions as a member of the Canberra City Evening VIEW Club, just completing a one year term as President.
Mr Adrian Roberts OAM
Mr Roberts is a previous member of the Council and is a distinguished veteran of the Vietnam War. He is an advocate for the veterans’ community, particularly through the Kindred Organisations Committee. He is particularly passionate about the need of Veterans and their families to get involved in State/Territory Government policy and programs, rather than relying solely on the Commonwealth Department of Veterans’ Affairs.
Mr Maurice Sexton OAM
Mr Sexton came to Canberra from Melbourne in 1972 with his wife Mary and young family to further his career in the Commonwealth Public Service. He had a successful Public Service career culminated in Senior Executive Service appointments within ACT Health. After his retirement from the Public Service in 1991, he ran a management consulting company specialising in recruitment.
He retired from full time work in 2002 but continues to serve part-time on the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
In his life outside work, Maurice has continually been involved with community activities such as: scouting; life-saving; community development; environmental conservation; and the preservation of high-country mountain huts.
In 2007 Maurice was awarded the Order of Australia Medal for his “service to heritage conservation, particularly through Kosciuszko Huts Association, and to the community of Canberra”.
More recently Maurice has been the principal carer for his wife who, until her death in December 2011, had been chronically ill.
Maurice currently serves on the respective committees of the Friends of the Albert Hall, the Weston Creek Community Association and the University of the Third Age, Canberra.
Mr Ian Trewhella AM
An illness in 1961 left Mr Trewhella with quadriplegia, and since that time he has had to continually learn to cope with and manage his disability as it changed over the years. What he has achieved in his lifetime is inspirational.
He worked in the Australian Public services for 27 years, the last 17 in Prime Minister and Cabinet. He also owned and operated a small business called The Wheelchair Factory that provided advice, support and equipment to people with a disability in the ACT and surrounding region.
Mr Trewhella uses his wealth of knowledge and experience to provide quality advice on disability aspects and issues to the many Boards and Committees, both locally and nationally, including but not limited to: Disability ACT, ACT Disability Advisory Council, the former ACT Paralympic Committee, PWDACT Inc, ACTION Buses, Carers ACT and the Health Care Consumers Association.
He counsels newly disabled people and their families on what they may expect while trying to live with a disability. He believes his frank approach to the subject has been the most effective way to achieve greater understanding and acceptance of the life and daily challenges of a person with a disability.
He also lectures medical, nursing and ambulance staff on the problems associated with being a quadriplegic person in the hospital environment, community acceptance and general coping with daily living with a disability.
Mr Trewhella has had significant achievement in the sporting arena, having participated in many State and Territory sporting teams and on a number of occasions represented Australia at International wheelchair sporting and Paralympics competitions. He has achieved numerous gold, silver and bronze medals and has sporting records including a Number 2 world ranking in the sport of Archery and still holds disability Archery Australian records.
For his tireless work over the years Ian has received a number of awards including Young Australian of the Year and Citizen of the Year. In 1992, he received an Order of Australia Medal, General Division, for volunteer service to people with disabilities in the fields of Sport, Recreation and Welfare.
Kevin Vassarotti
Mr Vassarotti is the ex-officio COTA ACT representative on the Council and is a member of the COTA ACT Policy Council. He worked in the Australian Public Service for many years in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and in the Office for an Ageing Australia within the Department of Health and Ageing.
Ms Meredith Whitten
Ms Whitten is the ex-officio representative for the Community Services Directorate, being the Senior Director of Governance, Advocacy and Community Policy, which includes the Office for Ageing. She has overseen the development and implementation of the current Strategic Plan for Positive Ageing.
Ms Chin Wong
Ms Wong is a previous member of the Council. She is an Assistant Director of Nursing at The Canberra Hospital and is an active representative and coordinator of the ACT Chinese community and the Canberra Multicultural Community Forum. In 2011 she received the ACT Multicultural Award for Outstanding Volunteer.
Top
