Communication for elderly In jeopardy’

Press, 10 February 1988, Page 8

Communication for elderly In jeopardy’

Another communication choice for elderly people may be in jeopardy if a charge for local telephone calls is introduced, according to the Canterbury Aged People’s Welfare Council. One of the main joys for elderly people was communication, said the council’s secretary-mana-ger, Mr Charlie Waters. They had already been hit by increased postal charges, he said.

“It seems to me the consequence (of local telephone charges) would be that old people who normally telephone their daughter or son every day are not going to when they should.” Many elderly people had an arrangement to telephone friends every day to let them know they were well, said Mr Waters. Clubs for elderly people had a network system whereby they telephoned everyone before a meeting.

Telephone charges would be an advantage to the business community at the expense of elderly people because businesses had incoming calls in the main, he said.

Every move the Labour Government made seemed to result in less equity for the people it was supposed to be looking after, said Mr Waters.

Telecom has been considering a range of options for telephone users including paying for each local call. Telecom’s marketing manager in Christchurch, Mr Graeme Hore, on Monday dismissed suggestions by the Post Office Union that the single telephone charge would be introduced in parts of Christchurch in about three months.

“It is news to us,” he said. He suggested a move might be made “perhaps in three years, perhaps in some parts of Christchurch.”