Ian Yates, CEO of Council on the Ageing (COTA) Australia, marked Ageism Awareness Day last week by saying there remains widespread existence and impacts of ageism.
“Ageism is endemic in Australia. The Australian Human Rights Commission last year found that 90 per cent of Australians agree that ageism exists in this country, yet we are still yet to see some of the simple, concrete measures that older Australians have been asking for put in place to address this critical issue,” he said.
Ian said the Federal Government can act against ageism, by:
- establishing a Productivity Commission inquiry into the prevalence and costs of ageism, with emphasis on workplaces and health services; and
- introducing stronger age discrimination laws following a high priority inquiry by the Australian Law Reform Commission.
“Ageism is costing Australia dearly as a society, both from an economic and a social perspective. Conducting a broad reaching inquiry into the costs of ageism is an important starting point and something the Federal Government could then move on swiftly,” said Ian, who announced in May he was stepping down after two decades as CEO of COTA.
“Our Age Discrimination Laws are also failing to deliver, are not fit for purpose, and need major upscaling.”
“One day we’ll all grow older”
WA Government’s Seniors and Ageing Minister Don Punch said he had met “so many Western Australians who have really been hurt by ageism.”
“We need to remember that one day we’ll all grow older, but will still deserve the same respect as younger people,” he said.
“Ageism is, quite simply, a form of prejudice – and on that basis alone it should not be tolerated.”
Resilience is a means of bouncing back from acts of ageism. In Sydney, Eastern Suburbs Older Persons’ Mental Health Service (OPMHS), in partnership with UNSW Sydney’s Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing, is providing a free annual forum for seniors on resilience.
The forum will be chaired by Professor Henry Brodaty AO, Honorary Medical Officer at the OPMHS at Prince of Wales Hospital and UNSW Sydney Scientia Professor of Ageing and Mental Health.
“Older people often demonstrate greater resilience than the younger generation, due in part to their lifespan of acquiring knowledge as well as the development of adaptation skills,” he said.
Registrations are essential for the forum at The Juniors, Kingsford, 7km southeast of Sydney’s CBD, on 26 October: register HERE.
