Helping senior New Zealanders maintain their independence and participate positively in society
The Office for Seniors advocates for older New Zealanders (age 65 and over) and raises awareness of issues affecting them. In the past year the Office’s focus was on developing a new strategy and supporting the development of age-friendly cities, towns and communities across New Zealand.
Better Later Life – He Oranga Kaumatua 2019-2034
In July and August 2018 the Office for Seniors supported the Minister for Seniors’ national conversation on issues affecting older people. We received 469 submissions, which formed the basis of a new draft strategy, Better Later Life – He Oranga Kaumatua 2019–2034. We released the draft strategy in April 2019 for consultation. When finalised, the new strategy will replace the 2001 Positive Ageing Strategy as the overarching framework, spanning government and community, for our ageing population. It will provide a roadmap for the development of initiatives and programmes to better support older people in New Zealand.
Age-friendly cities and communities
In December 2018 New Plymouth became the second city in New Zealand to join the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Network of Age-friendly Cities and Communities [34] and others have signalled an interest in doing so [35]. The Office for Seniors provides support to cities, towns and communities wanting to explore what age-friendliness means for them. A critical part of the process is to involve older people, from assessment to planning and delivery.
The Office for Seniors has worked to inspire and support communities to become age-friendly. In the past year 12 grants were made to councils and community groups to support the development of age-friendly programmes and initiatives.
Raising awareness of issues affecting older people
The Office for Seniors maintains a high level of contact with senior New Zealanders through the SuperSeniors website, newsletters and social media [36].
We ran two major social media campaigns this year to raise awareness of the need for enduring powers of attorney, and of elder abuse. We achieved good reach, with the Enduring Power of Attorney campaign reaching more than 15,000 people on social media and leading to more than 5,000 clicks on our website.
Social media posts in relation to our World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) [37] campaign reached more than 150,000 people and had a high level of engagement. Similarly, good results were received for the television and radio components of the campaign.
Through these campaigns we have also been able to highlight the support services available to help people work through these issues.
Sad we need a special day to be made aware of all the awful things which happen to so many of our elderly. Abuse takes many forms, physical and mental, with loneliness well up the list. Kindness, make time for elders, often a little patience, and it’s not hard to show some respect.
WEAAD respondent
Footnotes
[34] New Zealand became an affiliate member of the Global Network in June 2018
[35] Auckland Council is working through an engagement and consultation process to develop an age-friendly plan and intends to join the WHO Network in 2020.
[36] The website and newsletter regularly profile issues of interest to seniors, including New Zealand Superannuation, and discounts available through the SuperGold Card. Our newsletters are sent to nearly 340,000 people over 65 years of age.
[37] WEAAD is observed on 15 June each year.
