Submission on Ageing Strategy 2018

Submission

Living Streets Aotearoa Inc. (LSA) welcomes the opportunity to provide feedback on the proposed Ageing Strategy.

Terminology

LSA notes that Age Concern prefers the term “older people”. LSA would recommend that the Ageing Strategy refers to ‘older people” rather than “seniors”. LSA will use the term “older people” in this submission.

Older people can be defined as people 65+, however it should be recognised that chronological age is just a number. Some people may experience the impact of ageing from age 55, while others may not experience the impacts of ageing until 75 years of age or beyond.

Demographics

The discussion document provides useful information about the projected number of people aged 65+ in 2038 and details of the ethnic diversity of this population.
However there needs to be greater analysis of this population in narrower age bands, possibly 65-74, 75-84, 85+, and possibly considering the likely increasing number of those over 100 years of age. Evidence suggests that the needs of the older population may change significantly as older people move through each of these age bands [1], and some may experience the impacts earlier [2]. For example the discussion document suggests that 1 in 4 65+ may still be in employment, but how many will still be in employment at 75+? It should also be acknowledged that people age at different rates so these age bands are only indicative. This will be important in targeting appropriate support for people at different stages of aging.

Checklist for age friendly cities and communities

LSA considers the World Health Organization’s Checklist of Essential Features of Age-friendly Cities provides essential guidance for developing an age-friendly strategy. See the Appendix for WHO’s recommendations on Outdoor space and buildings and Transportation, the areas of particular interest to LSA.

Read our full submission (Download PDF, 955 KB)

For background information, see the SuperSeniors website

Read Developing a new strategy to prepare for an ageing population - E whai wāhi ana ki ngā mahi hei whakarite i te Rautaki Kaumātua Ora hou. Discussion document - He Pukapuka Matapaki, June 2018 (PDF, 2.8 MB)

Submissions closed on 24 September 2018.