Mature-Age Australians

The Hon. S.W. KEY (Ashford) (16:24): Recently, I have met with a number of constituents, either individually or in a group, regarding problems they have just because of their age. Interestingly, I have been looking at Bureau of Statistics information and what we have found, both from those statistics and from the occupational safety, rehabilitation and compensation committee that the members for Schubert and Fisher and I serve on, is that there are a number of issues for workers who are over the age of 45 years. Apparently this is the definition: you need to be over 45 years to be considered a mature-age worker.

I guess it is not surprising that I would receive a number of inquiries from people in the electorate because the proportion of people over 65 years in our state is very high, and this number is expected to double by 2055. I also noted that the median age in South Australia is 39.5 years, but half of our population is older and the other half is younger. The only place that has a higher median age than South Australia is Tasmania, with 41.9 years, and again half the population is older and the other half is younger.

We also have a number of people who live in Greater Adelaide who are older, so certainly the electorate of Ashford (the new electorate of Badcoe) comes under that umbrella. As I said, it is not surprising that a number of the inquiries that I receive come under that issue of age and what services and supports are available to so-called older people over the age of 45.

These days there is not a fixed retirement age in Australia for retirement from paid work. For the people I meet, it usually coincides with whether or not they are eligible for the age pension, and although eligibility for the age pension has been 65 years for both men and women in recent years, there is going to be, as we know, a gradual increment until 2035 to a retirement age of 70 years for the eligible people.

The constituents I have met recently who have been ill or injured and are over 45 report to me that they are not able to work in paid work. Unfortunately, their eligibility for the aged pension, the disability support pension or for medical support has not been forthcoming. A lot of the issues that I am taking up along with the federal member for Hindmarsh, Steve Georganas, in particular, are about the gaps for people in that age group who are quite often ill or injured or have very difficult situations where they are not able to get back into or get into the paid workforce.

In some cases, the only social wage that has been offered is Newstart. With the criteria that are attached to Newstart support, they have found themselves in some situations with no money at all. With the lack of social housing that is available to some of them, this has put people in a very difficult situation. The other people who have come in to see me have been over 45 and self-employed, or had been self-employed, and have had problems accessing their insurance provisions, workers compensation (if it is available) and often different medical support just because of their age.

I have also spoken to a number of constituents who cannot get travel insurance because they are over the age of 70, and travel insurance or medical support is not available to them. More often I am having to spend a lot of time—quite willingly, I might add—trying to talk to people in the federal sphere about why, for different reasons, people are not eligible for the social wage.

Time expired.