Positive Ageing Strategy status report launched

The International Day of Older Persons was celebrated in Wellington today with the launch of the first report on progress with the government's Positive Ageing Strategy.

At a special function at Parliament Buildings to celebrate the launch of the report, Senior Citizens Minister Lianne Dalziel said the document reflected on the themes of diversity of older people; continued participation of older people in society, and opportunities provided by New Zealand's changing population.

Today's report follows the launch of the Positive Ageing Strategy in April this year.

"The strategy sets out the government's commitment to positive ageing and reaffirms the value of older people in society.

"This status report is an essential part of our commitment to monitoring and reporting on positive ageing in New Zealand, and it will be published every three years.

"It provides a comprehensive description of the situation of older people in New Zealand today and discusses current policies and programmes encouraging people to age positively as well as identifying issues requiring government action as part of the overarching strategy."

Lianne Dalziel said while the report was important because it presented the demographic and economic context for discussing specific policy issues, it's main purpose was to provide specific information on the 'status' of older New Zealanders.

"This coalition government wishes to work in partnership with local government and community and today's launch reinforces our commitment to deliver on our policies in a measurable way," she said.