The team at Point of Order – proudly comprising veteran journalists – had been blissfully unaware that yesterday was a special day for us.
It was International Older Persons Day, a matter of huge import drawn to our attention by Seniors Minister Tracey Martin.
Martin’s statement included some fascinating data:
- By 2027 it is expected there will be a million seniors and by 2034, more than a fifth (21.4%) – 1.2 million New Zealanders – will be aged 65+.
- As at June 2020 there were 88,000 people 85 or older – 11% of the senior population. That number is predicted to rise to 179,000 in 2034.
- The senior population is increasingly diverse. By 2034 the number of Māori aged 65+ will more than double from 2018 figures (from 48,500 to 109,400) the senior Pacific population will also do this (from 21,300 to 46,700), and there will be nearly three times as many Asian NZers aged 65+ (from 59,500 to 171,900).
- Seniors currently make up around 6.7% of the workforce (in the June 2020 quarter). By 2033 the number of seniors at work will increase by more than 50% and make up 9.5% of the workforce.
We were just as interested in – and hopeful about – Martin’s declaration that International Older Persons Day had been a chance to think about the individual older New Zealanders we know and to confront ageism.
“On the International Day of Older Persons, let’s remind ourselves that older people are our parents and grandparents and move away from casual ageism.”
We would like to suppose ageism will be confronted far beyond the 24 hours of International Older Persons Day.
And we trust Martin took time to have a chat with Minister for Women Julie Anne Genter about her odious attitude to oldies. Continue reading “Tracey Martin strikes a blow against ageism – here’s hoping the sentiment lasts more than a day (and that Genter was listening)”