Page 1218 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 24 March 2009
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
The Australian Bureau of Statistics data indicate that the ACT has one of the fastest-growing populations in Australia of people aged 60 and over. The ACT government population projections predict that from 2006 to 2016 we will see a 5.2 per cent increase in the percentage of people aged 60 and over, moving from 13.7 per cent of the total of the ACT population to 18.9 per cent. Almost one in five people in 2016 will be over the age of 60.
Mrs Dunne: That is you and I, John.
MR HARGREAVES: I can picture Mrs Dunne in 2016. What a picture!
Mrs Dunne: What about you, Johnno? Do not start that thought. You could play that all the way through the chamber.
MR HARGREAVES: I shall be looking outward from my face and not inward at it but it will be a sight to behold, let me tell you, because I will be here, in this place, in this job, in 2016.
Earlier this month I held three community forums to seek input on the strategic plan for positive ageing. The discussion at the community forums was focused on the five key areas of health and wellbeing for older Canberrans, including the impacts of disability; housing and accommodation; support services for older people; transport; and work and retirement, including ongoing employment opportunities and planning for retirement.
The feedback from these forums has proven very informative for the government. Feedback included issues and ideas about improving access to information, such as about support services, volunteering opportunities and superannuation; increasing accessible housing to allow people to continue to live relatively independently in their homes; promoting positive images of older people; supporting people to maintain health and fitness.
Mrs Dunne: That goes for you too, Johnno.
MR HARGREAVES: I can imagine no more positive image of someone over 55 than my good self. We are about supporting people to maintain health and fitness, for example, through regular exercise. Indeed, we get so much of that here, do we not? It is about supporting flexible work arrangements for older employees—which is probably why Mr Doszpot is not here; he is adopting those flexible working relationships and arrangements—and considering a range of transport issues, which is why indeed Mr Hanson is not here; he is on a train out of town.
The strategic plan will be a blueprint for action and will include measurable strategic indicators that tell us whether we are achieving our goals. Notice, if you will, Madam Assistant Speaker, who is of my party, that we have two people on the crossbench. Notice, if you will, that both of the other parties in this chamber have double the number of members that the Liberal Party has at the moment. As well as providing a pathway for action, the strategic plan will form a basis of a monitoring tool to gauge
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .