Latest Media Release – April 2011
Older Tasmanians set to play big part in economy
Council on the Ageing Tasmania (COTA Tas) has welcomed the establishment of the Advisory Panel investigating the Economic Potential of Senior Australians as another step toward greater recognition of older people’s positive contribution to society.
COTA Tas CEO Maxine Griffiths said that older Tasmanians’ contribution to the health of the Tasmanian economy was only going to continue to grow and that recognition of this was vital.
“As our population continues to age, employers within the community will need to continue to source older people to satisfy demand in the workforce,” said Ms Griffiths.
“We must ensure that employers around Tasmania and the nation are equipped to deal with this and that they are able to understand the needs of older workers.”
The panel is set to examine the best ways for Australia to harness the life experiences and intellectual capital of older people in the community.
Members of the panel will include:
- Mr Everald Compton AM (Chairperson) – recently retired Chair of National Seniors Australia and Chair of the Consultative Forum on Mature Age Participation;
- Professor Gill Lewin – President of the Australian Association of Gerontology, Professor at the Centre for Research on Ageing at Curtin University of Technology, and Research Director at Silver Chain, a provider of community and health services in WA; and
- Professor Brian Howe AO – former Deputy Prime Minister with ministerial experience in the fields of social security, health, housing and community services, and a Professorial Fellow at the Centre for Public Policy, University of Melbourne.
Ms Griffiths said employers would need to realise where re-skilling for older people was important and then work on implementing training programs that adequately addressed their needs.
“We look forward to meeting with the panel to discuss relevant issues in the Tasmanian community,” she said.
COTA national will be present at the first meeting of the panel on 4 May in Adelaide.
Download a copy of the release here