Page 1246 - Week 04 - Thursday, 21 March 2013
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through consultation and feedback we are creating new policies, programs and initiatives to address the needs of our ageing population, for both now and as we plan forward into the future.
In 2010 Canberra was recognised for its strategic planning in positive ageing initiatives by being invited to join the World Health Organisation’s global network of age-friendly cities. This is a very prestigious world network and it both recognises the work that is being done and provides the ACT with a framework to continue to improve our efforts.
Also, in September 2011, the ACT government convened Australia’s first older persons assembly. Many members here today attended sessions of that. I think we all know what a positive experience it was for our older citizens. We have an age-friendly cities network in the ACT government which involves members of each directorate. All directorates were involved in developing the ACT’s strategic plan for positive ageing and the action plan that has arisen from that strategy. The directorates also report on their role in implementing that action plan through their annual reports.
There are various other initiatives going on, including that the ACT government will shortly lower the age of eligibility for the ACTION gold card to 70 years. We are supporting older persons to downsize in public housing through building tailor-made aged persons units that have design capabilities to allow people with mobility issues to move freely through them, as well as obviously just being that bit smaller. We are also seeking to develop housing for elderly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, as has been recommended to us by the Indigenous elected body.
All of these commitments are being progressed by the government and we see them as integral for ensuring that Canberra is a city in which our older members feel valued and can fulfil the lives that they wish to.
MADAM ACTING SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Mr Gentleman.
MR GENTLEMAN: Minister, how will the government continue to consult with community groups on positive ageing for the ACT?
MR RATTENBURY: There is a range of mechanisms the government undertakes. We have a ministerial council on ageing which meets regularly and provides direct advice to me as the minister, and the Office for Ageing. The Office for Ageing supports that process. We, of course, have committed to continuing with the older persons assembly. I think the one in 2011 was extremely successful, and ever since that date I have run into older people around town who were at the event and have expressed to me their desire for it to continue. That is why the parliamentary agreement recognises that that is a positive imitative to carry forward. It brings in a greater group of stakeholders and enables us to have a very focused event around the needs of older people in our community. Anyone who recalls the conversations that day will know that a very broad range of issues were raised with us.
There are, of course, a range of groups, such as the Council on the Ageing, that the government actively engages with and seeks their advice and consults with on both an
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