Address to Age Concern New Zealand conference

E aku rangatira, tēnā koutou katoa.  Ka nui te honore ki te mihi ki a koutou.                  

Before I begin, I would like to acknowledge your National President, Liz Baxendine and Chief Executive, Ann Martin.  I met with Liz and Ann recently and was impressed with how passionate they both are about the work that you do.  I know that the services that Age Concern provides are hugely helpful to older people, so I was glad to be able to tell Liz and Ann that I will give my full support to all that your organisation does. 

My aim as Minister for Senior Citizens is to enhance the lives of older people, provide leadership on positive ageing and encourage a culture in New Zealand where older people are valued and recognised as an integral part of families and communities.  I see developing and exploiting the synergies between my Senior Citizens, Community and Voluntary Sector, Women’s Affairs and Associate Health portfolios as key to achieving these goals.

There are now over 500,000 New Zealanders who are 65 plus - that’s around thirteen per cent of the population.  The proportion of people aged over 65 is expected to reach more than 20 per cent of the population in the next 15 to 20 years.

With these statistics in mind, it is of utmost importance that we have an effective strategy in place to ensure that older people are recognised as important and valued members of society.

Social isolation and community involvement
Older people make invaluable contributions to the economy and to strong communities.  The ways they contribute are too many to count.  The few that I will have time to touch on today include their relationships with younger people, involvement in community organisations, caring for family members and continued participation in the workforce.

One in four people over 65 years choose to work.  My Dad at 75 years is in part time work.  He chooses to be.  Many others are heavily engaged in unpaid, but nevertheless vitally important work.

An OECD study revealed that the labour force participation rate for New Zealanders aged 65 to 69 is one of the highest amongst OECD countries. The Business of Ageing research released by the Ministry of Social Development last year showed that in the future more older people will participate in the paid workforce and the value of older people’s work – paid, unpaid and voluntary – will increase.  Our ageing population is also a growing consumer market.

However, while most older people are well equipped to participate positively in society, many older people throughout New Zealand are already or are at risk of becoming socially isolated.  Older people as a whole spend more time alone than any other age group.

Being socially isolated can make an older person very vulnerable, for example through the effects of loneliness or by concealing abuse.  16 per cent of older people in New Zealand say they always, mostly or sometimes feel lonely.  International evidence shows loneliness has an effect on mortality that is similar in size to cigarette smoking and that socially isolated and lonely adults are more likely to be admitted early to residential care.

This is why addressing social isolation is so important to me and one of my priority areas of work as Minister for Senior Citizens and across my other portfolios.  Your accredited visitor service is a wonderful example of what can be done to alleviate social isolation and loneliness among our older people.  There are also existing government programmes that aid and encourage older people to stay connected to their communities and New Zealand society, but I think there is more we can do.

Link Age and SAGES
One way older people contribute is through their relationships with younger members of their communities.  They teach younger generations by good example, guiding them to make good choices and to be responsible for their own lives, as they themselves have been.

There are excellent initiatives already in place that encourage positive intergenerational relationships. These include the Link Age programme in schools and the SAGES mentoring programme, provided by the Ministry of Social Development. These two programmes bring older and younger people together to share information, learn new skills and in doing so break down ageist attitudes.

SuperGold Card
Another initiative that already helps to enable older people to remain connected and participate in their communities is the SuperGold Card, particularly the free off peak public transport.  Around 28 million trips have been taken by cardholders since 2008.

Reciprocal arrangements are now in place so people can take their Card to Australia and receive a range of commercial discounts that Australian seniors receive. 

To build on this positive progress, I am committed to improving the range and connections of the SuperGold Card – especially for those outside of the main city centres.  The Ministry of Social Development is aiming to add 350 new businesses by the end of this year and to double the total number to 3000 by the end of 2014.  This will increase the value for cardholders and contribute to their quality of life.

Going Digital
For many older people – and of course the young ones too! – television provides a vital means by which they stay informed and feel connected with their community, New Zealand and the world.

The world around us keeps changing and we all need to constantly adjust our way of life. One of the changes you probably all know about is the move from analogue to digital television. 

To make the transition to digital TV as easy as possible, there is an assistance package that people 75 and over can test their eligibility for. The package will help older people to make the transition. 

Many older people may not be aware this assistance is available and you may be able to assist people to find out more about it.  Details of the programme are on the website www.goingdigital.co.nz. 

Elder abuse and neglect
Social isolation from family and friends can render an older person extremely vulnerable and heightens the potential for elder abuse.

Of course this is not news to you as you are the largest provider of elder abuse and neglect prevention services in the country.  Yet another area in which you are leading the way in improving the lives of older New Zealanders.

The government has strengthened legislative provisions to protect vulnerable adults from abuse.  The Crimes Amendment Act (No 3) 2011 came into effect on 19 March.  The Act makes failure to speak out and take reasonable steps to protect a child or vulnerable adult an offence with a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment.  The sentence for abusing or neglecting a vulnerable adult also increased to 10 years.

A wider understanding of elder abuse and neglect will mean that more people are able to identify, prevent and address problems as they arise. Increasing public awareness of elder abuse and neglect continues to be a priority for government.  We do this through community programmes under the Positive ageing Strategy, the “It’s not OK” family violence campaign, and activities to promote World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.  Just over half of DHBs are developing or have developed elder abuse and neglect policies.  Your public awareness activities are also a vital part of this. 

As Minister for Senior Citizens I will look at a more consistent approach to addressing elder abuse across communities and agencies.  A key part of this will be to work with my colleague the Minister of Police, Neighbourhood Support New Zealand and Age Concern to improve responses to elder abuse.

Carers’ Strategy
Many people over 65 look after their older parents, their partner or spouse or their grandchildren full or part time.  Unfortunately, such caring can be quite an isolating activity.

I am very interested in issues around caring. My officials are looking at ways of improving the lives of carers and I will be working closely with them to see that carers have the best information possible, to support them in their role.

As part of my role as Minister for Senior Citizens I also have responsibility for the Carers’ Strategy.  Many of you are probably already aware of the strategy and its objectives. The strategy and its associated action plan was launched in 2008.  Many of the actions were planned for 2008-2010 and have been completed, others are still ongoing. 

I am now looking to evaluate the progress of the strategy and action plan in partnership with the caring sector.  There is still much to be done in this area, including on how we can take a more joined up approach to supporting carers across government agencies.

Cross-government synergies
I think we can make gains in many more areas by working across government agencies.  When we join up resources and information, I am confident we can produce better outcomes for a wider range of people.  With this in mind, I have asked the officials in all my portfolios to look for ways they can achieve this goal, with a particular focus on alleviating social isolation.

The Ministry of Social Development and Office for the Community and Voluntary sector are looking at developing voluntary programmes that will appeal to older people and inspire those who are not already involved to get involved and support their communities. 

Recent findings from the Health and Ageing Research Team at Massey University show that the more often people take part in volunteer activities, the higher their happiness.  I have also seen first hand what a positive effect participation in volunteer work can have in older peoples’ lives. 

Let me tell you first about my friend and former neighbour Joan, who sadly passed away 13 December last year. Joan lived a long life, most of it with her unmarried sister.  When her sister passed away, Joan redoubled her efforts to remain connected to her community, a community she had been an active volunteer in.  What Joan wanted, in fact to be honest needed, was to feel still part of her community, to be useful and to have something to do.  It was Joan’s friends who gave her that sense by recruiting her help with folding newsletters, phoning people prior to events, rolling calendars and other such tasks.

The other day I was given another excellent example, that of a recently widowed woman with a long term condition restricting her ability to leave her home.  This lady was offered the chance to become a Caring Caller with St John.  This work gave her a focus for some of her time as a lifeline to another older New Zealander.      

I think that we as a community need to harness the energies, skills and talents of people like these women.  They need to feel connected and we need their skills and talents.  Putting the two together will take thought but will pay all sorts of important dividends. 

There are also other areas where my officials can work together to reduce social isolation and associated risks for older people.  For example, statistics show that women live longer than and are often more vulnerable than their male peers.  This means there are opportunities for the Ministries of Social Development and Women’s Affairs to work together, for example on increasing financial literacy for older women so they are less vulnerable in that respect if they are widowed.

The Ministries of Social Development and Health are working together to help keep older people out of the health care system for longer, and to support them in maintaining their independence and ability to actively participate in their communities.  This involves ‘joining up’ services so older people receive a seamless continuum of care from community-based services, primary care, specialist services and residential care.

Conclusion
I must say I get a little tired of hearing about the ‘looming crisis’ of an ageing population.  We will need to change the way we think about what the years over 65 mean.  Having just turned 51, I think of 51 as the new 41.  When I was 20, I thought people the age of my grandmother, then 65 years old, were really old.  Heavens, she just turned 96 and whilst in a Rest Home, I now think of the 31 years of living she has done since I was 20.

We need to make sure that we are making the most of the opportunities an ageing population presents us with. A vital part of this will be for government agencies to work together better across more issues, and to continue to support the wonderful work of organisations such as yours.  Reducing social isolation through such work will be vital to allow older New Zealanders to feel valued and respected and part of their community, and for New Zealand to reap the benefits of everything older people can contribute.  This is an exciting challenge and I look forward to seeing what we can come up with.

No reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.