Page 2984 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 14 August 2013

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(a) that the ACT has one of the fastest growing populations of people aged 60 years and over and this is expected to grow from 15.5 percent of the ACT population to 19 percent by 2020;

(b) that retirees, particularly self-funded retirees in the ACT, are suffering under discriminatory Labor government policies both at the federal and ACT level;

(d) cost of living pressures such as rates and other taxes and poor economic management, together with a shortage of retirement housing options are all creating unfair financial difficulties on Canberra’s independent retirees; and

(e) these issues are forcing Canberrans who are nearing retirement to either continue working to ensure they have sufficient funds to meet daily living expenses or selling up and moving to cheaper housing interstate; and

(2) calls on the government to:

(a) recognise the difficulties that current cost of living pressures are causing older Canberrans;

(b) stop the tax reforms which are tripling rates for older Canberrans; and

(c) write to the Prime Minister to highlight the uncertainty caused by federal Labor policies on older Australians who choose to retire in Canberra.

As medical science extends out the average living age further and further, people aged over 60 are becoming an increasingly higher percentage of our population. Here in the ACT we have one of the fastest growing populations of people aged over 60 years of age, beaten only by the Northern Territory. As the older persons assembly staged here in this Chamber in 2011 highlighted, a growing ageing population will in future years present a number of challenges for government in a range of areas, including housing, transport, health, disability, aged care and employment. Indeed, as the older persons assembly also discovered, it also represents a range of opportunities and a resource that can be tapped to assist in a range of areas.

So it is, indeed, disappointing that the Labor Party, at both the federal and local levels, has continued to discriminate against and within the aged community. I refer, of course, to self-funded retirees. Our motion states that retirees, particularly self-funded retirees in the ACT, are suffering under discriminatory Labor government policies, both at the federal and ACT levels. And, indeed, they are. Of course, those on the other side of the chamber will be quick to deny that and direct our attention to their blueprint. As we know, they always produce a glossy brochure. This one is called a strategic plan for positive ageing and purports to set out progress towards an age-friendly city and supports for seniors. But are we really an age-friendly city? I do not think so, and I suspect very few in the ACT community would agree with that sentiment.

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