Kerry Shine must mend his U3A fences

The 1100 or so members of Toowoomba’s University of the Third Age remember very well that in November 2007 our MP Kerry Shine and his Federal candidate colleague Chris Meibusch made a great election campaign play of finding the nearly homeless organisation somewhere new to live.

Shine chaired a meeting, with Meibusch in attendance, in which he publicly offered the assembled U3A committee members and rank and file members the lease of the unused Administrative Building at Baillie Henderson mental hospital.

Meibusch made a great play in his election publicity of the offer and his care for U3A and other organisations helping the aged.

There was however a catch – NO funding of any kind was attached to the offer and the situation now is that U3A members have to find funding of some hundreds of thousands of dollars to bring the building up to compulsory occupiable standards and to equip it.

So far, all U3A’s submissions to State Government departments have been denied.

And not a single word of explanation, apology or offer of assistance from the Attorney General. I don’t know how many of the 1100 live in his Toowoomba North electorate but Shine should remember that we all have long memories.

For that matter, how many of his constituents know that he point blank refuses;
1) To consider the appointment of a co-ordinating Minister for Care of the Aged in our State, being content to leave Age Care divided between five separate Ministries and
2) Refuses point blank to consider regulatory legislation to safeguard Age Pensions from predatory rental landlords.

Some caring Member is our Kerry !!!