We all deserve a positive ageing experience
Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, Jenny Macklin, officially launched Anglicare Australia’s 10th State of the Family report in Canberra yesterday, coinciding with Anti-Poverty Week.
Titled In from the Edge, the report consists of five essays contributed by Anglicare Australia agencies, detailing some of the barriers currently facing different groups in society, which lead to exclusion and disadvantage.
Not for profit aged care provider, Benetas, a member of Anglicare Australia, contributed an essay to the publication.
Alan Gruner, Benetas research and development manager is the author of the essay A positive ageing experience – why not for all? In the piece he discusses ageing and disadvantage, and why some Australians enjoy a positive experience of ageing and others do not.
“We are going grey as a nation but so often policy and media discussion deliver a hand-wringing, negative message about ageing. Too often the discussion is reduced to facilities and numbers of beds, rather than how people can live and age well,” Mr Gruner points out.
He says that while many Australians will benefit financially from a long life of full employment, with substantial superannuation and large assets when they retire, a significant number are disadvantaged.
“They are restricted through low educational qualifications, unemployment, casual and short-term employment, poor health, lack of superannuation, and lack of home ownership. They have few economical resources and often experience a poor quality of life.”
In 2009, more than one in four Australians aged 65 years and over were living in poverty on international measures.
“We need government leadership and national policies on positive ageing for all older Australians,” Mr Gruner explained.
“We must recognise the common and distinctive exclusions experienced by older people and develop strategies to overcome these barriers. We have a choice as a society – we can ignore the challenges posed by an ageing Australia and exclude a large section of our population from having opportunities to age well or we can choose to recognise all there is to gain from including older people in the life of our communities.”
The report is available at http://www.anglicare.asn.au
