Page 1517 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 4 May 2016
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finally “ensure Government policies and practices identify and appropriately support the needs of ACT seniors”.
Through you, Madam Assistant Speaker, for Mr Barr’s benefit, I have raised this motion with some regret. Mr Barr should have been alerted by his own minister for seniors about the angst that he has generated in our senior community in the ACT.
Throughout my life I have had a personal motto that has served me well over the years: respect for the past and a vision for the future. I respectfully suggest to Mr Barr that he consider showing some respect for the valuable past and present contributions of our seniors, who have paved the way so that the current and future residents of Canberra may benefit from the legacy that they have left behind.
Such a legacy is now being played out in the English Premier League by Leicester City, which has a football team coached by one of the league’s oldest coaches, Claudio Ranieri. Leicester City has just become the English Premier League champions at odds of 5,000 to one. Claudio Ranieri is 64 years old. He was brought into the club because of his considerable experience as a coach. He was tasked with ensuring that Leicester City would not be relegated from the Premier League. His talent and experience were such that he took his young charges to the very top. Through you, Madam Speaker, I say to Mr Barr that it does give truth to the saying that “youth is the gift of nature, but age is a work of art”. I commend this motion to the Assembly.
DR BOURKE (Ginninderra—Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, Minister for Children and Young People, Minister for Disability, Minister for Small Business and the Arts and Minister for Veterans and Seniors) (4.11): As Minister for Veterans and Seniors, I am particularly keen to make sure that our seniors continue to play an active role in the ACT economy and the social fabric of our community. In my reply to Mr Doszpot’s motion I would like to highlight and focus on some of the positive initiatives this government is taking to maintain and enhance opportunities for seniors in our community.
Firstly, it is important that we understand the demographic backdrop. Although the ACT population is relatively young by national standards, like other jurisdictions across Australia and many countries around the world the ACT population is ageing. The statistics indicate that Canberra is likely to move into a demographic environment that is entirely unfamiliar to us. This profound shift in the age structure of Canberra’s population over the coming decades will reveal itself in many ways.
The government’s population projections show an ageing population, with the percentage of Canberrans aged over 65 years set to double from the 2012 level of 11 per cent to 22.5 per cent in 2062. The intergenerational report released by the commonwealth Treasury on 5 March 2015 identifies that life expectancy is expected to significantly increase. The number of Australians aged 65 years is projected to double by 2055 and will include over 40,000 people aged 100 years and over. By 2055 men can expect to live on average to at least 95 years and women to 96 years.
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