Older people are an opportunity

It is my pleasure to be here in Kerikeri today. Thank you for inviting me to speak, and special thanks to Liz Renner for her warm welcome.

It is a great time for New Zealanders to be reaching our later years. In the last century, we've witnessed a revolution in longevity as advances in medicine, science and lifestyle have extended our lifespan by years, and in some cases, decades.

In fact, today one in every ten people is 60 years and older. By 2050 one in every four people will be over 60. New Zealand's older population will likely double by the year 2028. That's only twenty years away. This is a huge shift in demographics. As a result, we're beginning to see a shift in our perception of what it means to be older.

Older people today are much more active and positive about approaching their later years, and increasing numbers of older people are continuing to work to maintain their active lifestyles. But an ageing population also presents challenges to society. We must carefully consider polices and services that will address these challenges while taking advantage of the opportunities.

That responsibility falls to government at all levels - central, regional and local. And the time to do it is now. The way local councils respond is especially important. Some of the greatest gains for older people occur when local councils listen to the needs of older people and incorporate these into their positive ageing plans.

Older people are important members of society. They have built up skills, knowledge and experience over the years that have matured into a valuable resource. It is a mistake to fail to appreciate and tap into this resource.

We need to enhance the opportunities that older people have to participate in all kinds of ways. This keeps them engaged, contributing, makes them visible, and appreciated, and adds to the wealth of New Zealand. Not just financially, but also socially. If older people will soon be one in four Kiwis, we want to make sure we're looking after their needs, and tapping into their wealth of experience.

The older we are, the more health concerns us. While today's older people are in better health than past older generations, we have even higher expectations of continuing to be in the best possible health well into older age.
Achieving the best possible health needs access to affordable health services. This Government will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the public health system.

We want older people to be healthy and to continue to be productive, because it's good for them and it's for the good of the country overall.
In recent years we may have increased our spend on public health but it hasn't meant improved or increased health services available to New Zealanders. This will now change.

This Government will improve health and social assessments for older people so their health needs are better met. We will reduce surgery waiting lists, cut wasteful bureaucracy, and improve the health workforce - particularly in residential care.

In 2006, around 75% of people aged 65 and over owned their own home, but already we're seeing this number fall. This Government plans to increase the number of state houses and ensure there is better use the current state housing stock.

We will keep New Zealand Superannuation at 66% of the after-tax average wage. The tax cuts which come in on April 2011 will also benefit Superannuitants, because the tax rate for incomes between $14,001 and $50,000 will reduce from 21% to 20%.

Sometimes Super is not enough. Many older people are not aware that they are entitled to other assistance from the Government, such as the Living Alone Payment, which recognises the extra costs for superannuitants or veterans' pensioners maintaining a household on their own.

There is a Disability Allowance available for on-going additional costs incurred as a result of a disability and this can include assistance with heating costs. Some older people are also eligible for an Accommodation Supplement, or a Special Needs Grant, or the Temporary Additional Support payment.

I'm committed to seeing an integrated approach to the delivery of services for seniors. I fully support the Ministry of Social Development's work to introduce one-stop-shops for seniors. These initiatives will respond in an integrated way to those seniors who need additional help and will provide better access to service providers.

Even if older people are aware that additional help is available, many are reluctant to approach agencies or Government departments when they need that extra help. Organisations such as Grey Power play a powerful role in getting information out to older people in need. The Government wants older people to have what they are entitled to. Older people have spent their entire life working hard and paying taxes. These entitlements have already been earned.

In some cases, helping older people receive their full entitlement might be as simple as including relevant information in your regular newsletters. In other cases, it might mean helping someone fill in the right forms, or going along to the local Work and Income office with them to speak on their behalf. Working together like this can make sure that older people don't miss out on the extra help they're entitled to. Older people have worked hard and long, contributing to the wealth and prosperity of New Zealand today. They deserve to be supported and appreciated for this.

More and more older New Zealanders want to keep working. No surprise there - more and more people over the age of 65 are staying in work and know that just because they've reached a certain age, the brain cells don't stop firing.

New Zealand has one of the highest labour participation rates for older people among OECD countries. Between March 2002 and March 2007, the size of the older workforce grew by over 100,000 people; that is, about 43 per cent.
While barriers to older people working still exist in New Zealand, it's illegal to discriminate against someone because of their age and we are starting to see changes in employers' attitudes.

Research indicates that the ability to plan and communicate peaks when you get to the 50s and 60s age bracket. Some other abilities decline, but only after 70. This research goes a long way to refuting age stereotyping.
Older people have a wealth of experience, which employers would do well to recognise and use. I will be promoting their experience and skills whenever I am engaging with industry.

To be fair, some employers can see this and are already implementing flexible practices to improve opportunities to hire and retain older workers. We have to remain vigilant to see this continues to happen. We've recently introduced the 90-day voluntary trial period to encourage employers in small businesses to take a chance on employing someone they may not have previously considered - like an older person returning to work. This gives an older person the chance to prove that they have valuable skills and knowledge to offer the workplace. This Government is committed to supporting older New Zealanders to continue working for as long as they can.

Some of the issues that affect older people are also affecting the rest of the population - issues like Family Violence and Elder Abuse. Evidence shows that when abuse of older people occurs, those responsible for the abuse are usually family members (79% of the time). When those responsible for abuse are under 65 years, they are most likely to be sons or daughters (59% of the time). When those responsible are over 65 years, they are most likely to be husbands.

Keeping older people safe from abuse and neglect is a challenging task. About half of the elder abuse cases reported through Elder Abuse and Neglect prevention centres are referred to the Police, but many victims are reluctant to lay criminal charges against family members and caregivers. I have great admiration for the 24 service providers around the country that government funds to respond to elder abuse. The work they do to deal with the problem and their commitment to seeing that older people are treated with dignity and respect, is inspirational.

Together, as families, as communities and as a nation, we have to change attitudes and behaviour that perpetuate family violence so that an environment is created where any type of violence is not tolerated and where people know what they can do to help stop it. This means we're making it unacceptable to neglect or abuse older people - no matter what.

The advances we've made in the last few decades in medicine, science and lifestyle have shifted the goal posts for old age, and changed our expectations of what it means to be old. This Government cares about improving health services for older people, we care about reducing elder abuse and neglect, and we care about the financial situation of older people.

We want to work with organisations in the community - like Grey Power and Age Concern - to make sure that older people enjoy a good quality of life, and continue to be connected to their families and communities.

When this happens, we will tap into a vast reservoir of wisdom and life experiences - something that will benefit all New Zealand, now and into the future.