Tucker-Evans, Mark --- "COTA National Seniors Join Forces" [2003] ElderLawRw 3; (2003) 2 Elder Law Review 4

• COTA National Seniors Join Forces

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COTA NATIONAL SENIORS JOIN FORCES

Mark Tucker-Evans

The eight State and Territory Councils on the Ageing have signed an agreement with National Seniors Association to form the COTA National Seniors Partnership to create a stronger voice for seniors and to improve the value of memberships.

COTA National Seniors is now by far the largest seniors organisation in Australia with more than 270 000 individual members and over 1500 seniors organisations under its umbrella. In Queensland the Partnership comprises more than 100 000 individual members over the age of fifty years with in excess of 270 local and statewide seniors organisations.

COTA National Seniors Partnership will offer members a vast range of services and benefits and an influential vehicle for contributing to policy debates affecting seniors in Australia.

The Partnership provides members with a State/ Territory lobbying and representation capacity as ch nal Seniors members with an instant State/Territory lob COTA National Seniors and has developed Policy Councils in every state and territory as well as at a national level. Policy Councils have membership representatives of National Seniors’ Zones, COTA individual members and COTA seniors’ organisations’ members. Other stakeholders and experts can be involved in working groups and as observers.

These Policy Councils will provide a forum to discuss issues raised and resolutions proposed by the joint membership, identify areas requiring investigation and research and decide COTA National Seniors policy on matters of concern to Australia’s seniors. Each Policy Council will be supported by COTA policy staff. This process will take the place of activities currently undertaken by the National Seniors National Council.

The COTA National Seniors Partnership will result in an even stronger voice with both Federal and State Governments on all key seniors issues.

Patricia Reeve, has been appointed Director, National Policy Secretariat; National Seniors, Chief Executive David Deans, is the lobbyist for the COTA National Seniors Partnership on Commonwealth Government issues with the State / Territory COTA offices as the central contact point on State and Local issues.