“Make yourself heard!” Why Kerri-Anne Kennerley is suing the government
Kerri-Anne Kennerley is taking a stand for older Australians, with plans to sue the Federal Government.
After her husband John suffered a fall over a garden hedge and became a quadriplegic, he required 24/7 care.
However, Kerri-Anne and John quickly found out that they wouldn’t be receiving support from the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), all because of their age.
Instead, they and many others aged over 65 who are disabled were put into the My Aged Care package for senior Australians.
Under the scheme, John received ten hours of care a week.
“It was pathetic,” Kerri-Anne said.
Though she and John were able to afford the extra help he needed, many Aussies aren’t as lucky.
Helen Bonning is one of those people, who is in a wheelchair and receives just a few hundred dollars a year from the scheme to go towards helping her in her daily life.
In comparison, someone with her level of disability who is under 65 years old would receive about $80,000 a year.
“If you were declined the NDIS because of your colour, age or sexual orientation there’d be a public outcry,” she said.
“But it seems it’s OK to discriminate against age?”
The differences between the NDIS and My Aged Care often means many older Australians are going without the equipment and care they need.
“My wheelchair needs to be upgraded every five years, it costs $25,000. The hoist to get me out of bed is $10,000. I just don’t have that sort of money,” Helen said.
This lack of support for older Australians is why Kerri-Anne has led her support to the cause of getting them some fairness, urging all of us to “make yourself heard”.
“So many people will be affected in the future,” she said.
“So many people are affected now … make some noise!”
Image: Kerri-Anne Kennerley / Instagram