Address Capital Seniors Charitable Trust

Senior Citizens Minister Ruth Dyson
Address to Capital Seniors Charitable Trust
Waiwhetu Uniting Church 2 Trafalgar St, Lower Hutt
6.15pm, Thursday, 12 February 2004

Rau rangatira maa,
tenei te mihi ki a koutou i runga i te kaupapa o te ra.
Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa.

[Distinguished guests, greetings to you gathered here for this purpose today. Greetings once, twice, three times to you all.]

Good evening and thank you for the invitation to speak to you. I bring very warm greetings from my colleagues Trevor Mallard, Paul Swain and Mahara Okeroa.

I want to begin by thanking you all for choosing New Zealand as your home. As your president Sam has said, I was born in Lower Hutt, and so the area in which you have settled holds special significance for me. I am now a dedicated Cantabrian.

I also want to congratulate you for setting up this multi-cultural, multi-religious body for migrant senior citizens. The fact that you have 50 members and that the number is growing shows there is a real need for your organisation and the support it is able to provide.

New Zealand is a migrant nation, and there is not one New Zealander that does not have a migrant story in their past.

Each of us, or one of our forebears, made a journey to make Aotearoa/New Zealand home – by waka, by ship or by plane. The journey is our common heritage and one of the foundation stones of our nation. Our diversity is our strength, and we must learn to celebrate and respect it.

Being part of a community means more than living in a house in a particular neighbourhood. It means engaging with our neighbours, local businesses and the wider community.

The essence of community lies in shared values, mutual respect for rights and obligations, and a knowledge and appreciation of diverse views, experience and beliefs.

When we are born into that community, we often take all of these things for granted. When we move into a community, it takes time to build these relationships. This can be a difficult period for any newcomer, especially when language is an added barrier.
Migrant settlement is not a one-way process. It is not something that can be ‘done’ for someone, and it is not something that a migrant can ‘do’ on their own.

Welcoming communities are an integral component of successful settlement, in the same way as an unwelcoming environment is a barrier. At the same time, ‘new Kiwis’ must be willing to be part of their new communities and contribute to New Zealand’s social and economic well-being.

My friend and colleague Lianne Dalziel, the Minister of Immigration, uses the allegory of a lock and key. The migrant who is willing to engage is the key, she says, and a welcoming community, equally willing to engage, is the lock. Together they create a strong and secure environment for and with each other.

I am delighted that you are keen to widen your knowledge and interest in the affairs of your community, as well as share your experiences and skills with others.

As Sam has said, I am responsible for a number of portfolios in our Labour-Progressive government. Tonight I will concentrate mainly on my role as Minister for Senior Citizens, but I am happy to answer questions in other areas.

Our government’s goal is to ensure that all New Zealanders are able to maintain active, fulfilling lives in their later years, and participate fully in our communities.

I am proud of what we have already achieved, and there is no doubt that having a proactive Senior Citizens Minister who sits at the Cabinet table advocating on behalf of older people has made a difference.

Although this is by no means an exhaustive list of achievements, here are some of the highlights of the last four years:

·In housing: the introduction of income-related rents for all low-income state house tenants, which has also had an impact on rentals in the private sector;

·Reversal of the previous government’s cuts to superannuation, and restoration of the pension to not less than 65 per cent of the average ordinary time weekly wage, and the annual adjustment to reflect increases in the cost of living. As a result, a married couple, for example, now receive $2500 a year more than they did in 1999.

·The establishment of the New Zealand superannuation fund, so that we can offer security in retirement to future generations.

·Introduction, from July next year, of a government-subsidised retirement savings scheme that will see state employers match employee contributions to an employee’s retirement savings. This is also an important step towards rebuilding the public sector after the cutbacks of the 1990s.

·Passing of Retirement Villages legislation, to provide improved protection for people buying into and living in retirement villages, including a Residents’ Code of Rights and an Industry Code of Practice.

·Launch of the Health of Older People Strategy, with its underlying commitment to an integrated “continuum of care” approach to the health care of older New Zealanders.

·Establishment, through the Heartland Services initiative, of 12 centres for government services and 12 monthly outreach services for provincial and rural New Zealand.

·Development of a ‘Future of Work’ project by the Department of Labour, looking at the implications of an ageing workforce in New Zealand.

·Implementation of mature employment and age discrimination projects by the EEO Trust, the Human Rights Commission, Work and Income Canterbury and the Canterbury Development Corporation.

·Launch of the Retirement Commission’s Sorted website and advertising campaign, giving people sound financial planning advice.

·And, finally, review of the driver licensing regime, which has seen significant reduction in costs for older New Zealanders and ongoing work to address some of the concerns around access to restricted licences for those who only want to use their car for neighbourhood travel.

Positive Ageing Strategy
Most of the achievements I have mentioned have occurred in the context of developing the first-ever New Zealand Positive Ageing Strategy, which sets out the government’s vision and action plan to create “a society for all ages”.

I like to think of positive ageing as ageing with attitude. In fact, many older people tell me that they never feel old – that “old” is always someone 10 to 15 years older than yourself.

Positive ageing is about empowering older people to make choices that enable you to live a satisfying, healthy life. It’s about valuing and respecting your contribution, and ensuring you have continuing opportunities to participate in society in the ways you choose.

It’s also about changing the attitudes of the whole of society to older people and to the process of ageing itself.

Asset testing
Last April I was delighted to announce the progressive removal of asset testing of older people in residential care.

This long-awaited announcement recognises that older people have the same rights as other citizens, and acknowledges your important contribution to our communities. Quite simply, it is not fair that people aged 65 and over have to use up their assets to contribute to the cost of their care, whereas younger people do not.

At the same time, we have had to balance human rights considerations against the huge costs involved – starting at more than $100 million in the first year and rising to $345 million by 2020/21. We simply don’t have the resources to remove asset testing all at once, which is why it will occur over time, beginning on 1 July 2005.

Health
“Equitable, timely, affordable and accessible health services for older people” is a key goal of the Positive Ageing Strategy, backed up by the Health of Older People Strategy also developed by this government.

We are adopting a new approach to meet the health needs of older people. It’s called an “integrated continuum of care”. In laypersons’ terms, this simply means that older people have access to a wide range of health services – from community care to specialist services – that have close links and can respond quickly and innovatively to their needs.

Caregiver training
Urgent development of our caregiver workforce is required if we are to achieve our health goals for older people.

For older people and people with disabilities to receive the best personal care and support – whether at home or in residential care – it is crucial that the people providing the service are themselves well supported and valued.

Residential and community care workers need a broad-based qualification that ensures nationally consistent standards. Staff recruitment and retention issues also need to be addressed.

The Community Social Services Industry Training Organisation has already started work – involving Age Concern and other organisations – to develop a national training programme for care workers. This is due to be completed before the end of the year.

The development of this programme is the result of a series of meetings, convened by my office, between Health Ministry officials and aged care and disability sector representatives, including Grey Power, Age Concern, the DPA, provider groups, community groups and unions.

This group’s work has also resulted in $1million being allocated in this year’s Budget for a broader project to assess the quality and safety of home support and residential care services and develop initiatives during 2003/04 to address them.

This sector group will continue to work with the Ministry of Health and other government agencies on further key issues related to the implementation of the Health of Older People’s Strategy.

Primary Care
While I’m on the subject of health, recently my colleague Annette King announced that the Government is accelerating a $47 million nationwide initiative to make primary health care more affordable for older New Zealanders enrolled in Primary Health Organisations (PHOs).
This is now going to happen this year, rather than next year, as originally planned.

From 1 April, all New Zealanders aged 65 and over and who are enrolled with a PHO will be eligible to have prescription fees capped at $3; and from 1 July will be eligible for low patient fees.

Falls prevention
Fall prevention programmes are an excellent practical example of how to support older people to lead more healthy and active lives and to “age in place”.

Falls are the most common cause of injury in older people. But falls are not a natural part of ageing. We can do something about them.

Last year I launched an internationally-recognised manual of exercises developed by ACC and the Otago University Medical School. They’re designed to be done at home, and are shown to reduce falls in at-risk older adults by more than a third.

Other programmes such as the Christchurch-based “Stay on Your Feet” involve a range of government and community organisations working to prevent falls among older people, and are a great example of how improved coordination of services helps to reduce hospital admissions.
Elder Abuse
Feeling safe and secure is a prerequisite for positive ageing. Yet some older people face physical, mental and/or financial abuse, both in the family home and in residential care. Isolation, communication difficulties and lack of support make older people particularly vulnerable to abuse, which is often hidden.

Last year I was delighted to announce a package of initiatives that will ensure we have the full picture about elder abuse and can respond appropriately. They include evaluating the 22 prevention programmes being run around the country.

In November, I attended a forum of key stakeholders from around the country who met in Wellington to discuss the issues and responsibilities for the prevention of elder abuse and neglect.

Transport
Getting out and about is another key issue affecting the independence and participation of older people, and a number of transport initiatives are underway to help us achieve the Positive Ageing Strategy goal of “affordable and accessible transport options”.

·The Office for Senior Citizens is leading an inter-agency project, involving the LTSA, the Ministry of Transport and the New Zealand Institute for Research on Ageing, looking at older people’s transport needs.
·Last year, Transfund initiated a review of the Total Mobility scheme, a subsidised transport service which provides a discount of 50 per cent on taxi fares in most areas for people with disabilities, many of whom are older people.

People and organisations involved with the scheme have been surveyed to get an overall picture of how it is working. A report summarising the survey results has recently been released, and you can get a copy by contacting Transfund.

The next stage in this review involves consultation on changes to strengthen and sustain the provision of Total Mobility in the future. A consultation document will be released shortly, and Transfund will be running workshops around the country. I encourage your involvement.

Older Driver Licensing
There are still some unresolved issues regarding older driver licensing.

The current situation is that older drivers need to renew their driver licence at the age of 75 years and again at 80 years and every two years after that. This process involves providing a current medical certificate, passing an eyesight check or producing an eyesight certificate, and sitting a practical driving test.

Overseas, the situation is mixed. Most countries have vision or medical requirements in place when older drivers renew their driver licence, but the use of practical tests varies considerably.

The LTSA and the Ministry of Transport are currently working on a variety of non-legislative measures to improve the driver licensing system for older drivers. Some initiatives include:

·a review and possible redevelopment of the popular “Safe With Age” courses;

·raising the awareness of the “Positive Guide for Mature Drivers”, which has been well-received by older driver groups. This could include extending the availability of educational materials to older drivers (eg targeted mail-outs to all older drivers due to renew their licence); and

·improving contracts between the LTSA and driver testing agents at the next contract round (due to begin May 2004) to improve the requirements for and monitoring of customer service provided by testing officers.

Minister of Transport Paul Swain is also considering legislative amendments such as improvements to the Land Transport (Driver Licensing) Rule 1999.

For example:
·removing the “automatic only” condition on an older driver licence; and
·allowing older drivers to renew their driver licence up to six months before the expiry date.

Other legislative measures being considered include the introduction of a “conditional” older driver licence for older drivers and wider options for older driver licensing.

Paul is aware that older driver licensing is a difficult issue and it is important that older drivers maintain their mobility as long as possible.

The LTSA continues to keep Grey Power involved in the progress of this work and older driver licensing issues generally. I give you my commitment to keep these discussions going in a constructive way.

Income support
“Ensuring older people in both rural and urban areas receive the services they need” is another principle of the Positive Ageing Strategy. We have received a lot of anecdotal evidence from older people about the variable quality of income support services around the country.

Last year the Office for Senior Citizens worked with the Volunteer Community Coordinators – who, by the way, are doing a fantastic job – on a survey of older people about Work and Income’s services and suggested improvements. About 6000 questionnaires were distributed through the VCC network, with a huge response rate of about 50 per cent.

Results show a high degree of satisfaction with Work and Income services. However, a number of improvements were suggested, falling into three main areas - client privacy, income assistance information (particularly about supplementary benefits) and staff training. Work and Income has begun work to make improvements in these areas.

Conclusion
In conclusion, I want to reiterate that the Positive Ageing Strategy is a powerful document that is beginning to change attitudes in government departments and lead to their active engagement with older people and on older people’s issues.

We might not be able to do much about the wrinkles, but an ageing population does not inevitably mean a less able or less healthy population. This is why the strategy is not only designed to improve the quality of life of today's older people, but also to promote and support more healthy and active lives among tomorrow's older people.

Outside central government, there is also much to be done. If we are to be successful, it is essential that we work in partnership with organisations like yourselves. Tonight is a great opportunity to discuss common areas of interest and concern, and I want to thank you again for inviting me to join you.

I wish you all the best for the coming year, and look forward to continuing to work with you on behalf of all older New Zealanders.

Thank you.