The Conference
John Duthie and his partner, Madie, were invited to join the table of Kelly Vincent MLC, leader of the Dignity Party, at the Gala Dinner of the 7th International Carers Conference. Carers Australia is the national peak body representing Australia’s carers. Their purpose is to “improve the health, well-being, resilience and financial security of carers and to ensure that caring is a shared responsibility of family, community, and government”.
The following statistics give a picture of the current status of care in Australia:
- There are over 2.7 million carers in Australia that volunteer their time
- If the carers were paid, it would cost over one billion dollars per week
- The average age of a primary carer is around 55
- The average income of a primary carer is 42% lower than non-carers
Joking about Dementia
The night involved speakers, a band, a stand-up comedian, and a three-course meal. Unfortunately, the comedian made jokes about people with dementia. John’s blog has something to say about this.
In summary, John enjoys hearing jokes. Steady Eddy was an Australia comedian with cerebral palsy, and Eddy told jokes about himself. If it is ok to joke about your disability, is it ok to tell disabled jokes about the impairments of other people?
Denise Scott at the Internation Carers Conference
Denise made jokes about her mother at the conference. Making fun of her mother in order to get a laugh. Scott had previously told jokes about people with Asperger’s syndrome …
“I can’t stand people who say they are alcoholic or have mild Aspergers or celiac when the fact is they’re just plain old-fashion f***ed up people with a few behavioural problems.”
John believes the International Carers Conference should have done a little research. And avoided a comedian, who makes fun of the people that carers are meant to be supporting. Not laughing at.
