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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 08 Hansard (Tuesday, 3 August 2004) . . Page.. 3351 ..

to me and to the executive and to facilitate a whole-of-government approach to the ACT government’s strategies, policies and programs relating to positive ageing.

The work of that office complements the work of ACT Health, which is responsible for implementing the government’s health-related aged care policies and services. The office consults widely with seniors organisations and the broader community to ensure that the positive ageing interests and needs of seniors are identified and catered for. The office provides a one-stop shop for seniors groups to engage with. This government is also the first government to establish the Ministerial Advisory Council on Ageing. The council assists the ACT government to advance the status and interests of older people, it undertakes research, and it provides advice on issues that are referred by me, or raised by community consultation.

The council’s key role is to ensure that the needs of older Canberrans are met and to advise the ACT government where there are gaps and shortfalls. The council comprises a membership of local people who were selected through open public nominations. These members have extensive knowledge of the issues affecting older Canberrans. The council has a broad focus and provides advice on issues such as positive attitudes towards ageing and older people, housing, accommodation, lifelong learning, mature age employment, and provision of services for older people.

As I stated earlier, Canberra is going through a demographic transition. Life expectancies are increasing and birth rates are declining. The ageing of our population poses significant challenges for the territory, not only in relation to the impact on future budgets but also in respect of the work force. An analysis of population projections in the ACT, which was undertaken by the demographics unit in my department, indicates that in the last 10 years Canberra’s labour force has grown by about 22,000 people or, on average, by about 2,000 workers a year.

However, in the decade 2015 to 2025 that figure is projected to shrink to about 4,000 or fewer than 400 new participants in the paid work force each year. Falling birth rates and an increased number of retirees have raised concerns about the ability of governments across the nation to fund the necessary services from a shrinking number of taxpayers. While an increasing number of these retirees may be self-funded in whole or in part, there are concerns that increasing life spans could lead to at least some retirees outliving their superannuation savings.

One way of addressing the issue of a declining work force is to encourage—and by that we mean encourage and not compel—mature age workers to remain in the work force for longer periods and to encourage those that have left to return, perhaps on a part-time basis. The challenge, of course, is how best to achieve that. The ACT faces a number of issues. While we are typical of Australia in many respects, in many others we differ significantly. Canberra has little employment in primary and secondary industry, with most jobs in the service sector. Education and income levels are higher. Consequently, it cannot be assumed that solutions that have been developed in other parts of Australia can be adapted to the ACT.

Last year we conducted a mature age employment summit that involved representatives from seniors organisations, ACT and Commonwealth governments, unions, business organisations and volunteering organisations. Following the summit we established

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