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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-02-20 Daily Xml
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Motions

Age-Friendly Communities

Mr DIGHTON (Black) (11:46): I move:

That the Social Development Committee inquire into and report on options to develop and sustain age-friendly communities and cities across South Australia, with reference to:

(a) current and forecast demographic changes—noting South Australia has the oldest and most rapidly ageing population on mainland Australia;

(b) the responsiveness of commercial, state government and local government services to the needs of older people;

(c) the suitability of services for people experiencing the intersectionality of age, Aboriginality, language, culture, gender, sexuality, neurodivergence and other forms of diversity;

(d) best practice approaches to housing, infrastructure, transport, health, employment, technology and social inclusion for an ageing population;

(e) opportunities for change to boost and maintain social and economic participation amongst older members of the community, including through the use of existing, expanded or new community hubs with a focus on ageing well; and

(f) commonwealth programs and policy including social security, superannuation and aged care and the commonwealth’s intergenerational report.

Our community has undergone huge demographic changes over the past century from the impacts of wars, migration, the baby boom, longer life spans and more recent trends towards smaller families and households. At different times, this has meant big increases in single-parent households, changes in the balance between young and old and the size of families.

Apart from changes in the number and distribution of our population, changes in social attitudes and laws have had massive impacts on how we operate as a community. Just one example of this is the change in women's participation in the economy. Just a few decades ago, many women were prevented from taking up various occupations or were forced to leave the workforce when they married.

Since then, the increase in women's economic participation has been one of the key drivers of our economic prosperity. We unlocked and started to realise the massive untapped potential and talent of over half our population. It was only at the last election we saw seven new female MPs elected to just one side of the house of parliament in just one day, including the member for Adelaide. I think it took around 90 years after the law that allowed women to be elected in 1894 to have that number elected across all parties in both chambers.

I want to pay tribute to and recognise one of my constituents, Molly Byrne. Molly Byrne was the first ALP woman elected to the South Australian House of Assembly. She was elected to represent the seat of Barossa, and later the seats of Todd and Tea Tree Gully, until 1979. She was the first woman member of the South Australian parliament to sit in your chair, Mr Speaker, in an official capacity, on 13 September 1972, when she was Acting Deputy Speaker. I received a very lovely letter of affirmation from Molly after the election, congratulating me. It was very nice to receive, and I am very proud to be the member of parliament representing such a trailblazer of our community.

This change in women's roles in society and the economy also meant that we had to think about a range of other changes. These include flexible working arrangements, social expansions around unpaid and informal care, along with different government programs to support people in making choices that work best for their family and the wider community.

The big change that has been working its way through our community in recent decades, the impacts of which we will continue to feel for decades to come, is the increase in the number and proportion of older people in our community. At the 2021 census, around 40 per cent of South Australians were aged 50 years and over, with the share of this group continuing to climb. The biggest proportional increases are expected in the older cohorts within this group, thanks to changing lifestyles and better medical care, amongst other factors.

When the commonwealth introduced the age pension back in 1909, you qualified at age 65 but the average life expectancy was around 58. Life expectancy is now in the 80s for many of us, although I note that longevity is not evenly spread. This is why we have clear targets around things like Closing the Gap, to make sure the benefits are enjoyed by more Australians, particularly First Nations communities.

At the same time as many people are living longer, we have seen a big drop in families with three, four, five or even more children, and a move towards smaller households. With many people in our population being born overseas, we have fewer households with close access to biological aunties, uncles and grandparents. Having said that, of course modern technology allows you to talk to an overseas parent in Asia, Europe or Africa more easily than you could 40 years ago.

All of this has huge ramifications for how we work, socialise and care for each other. The commonwealth recognises this through its intergenerational report into the future with a big focus on ageing. We have also seen some great work done in South Australia over a long period of time. The world-renowned expert Alexandre Kalache was a Thinker in Residence here more than a decade ago, with a focus on ageing.

One of his various legacies are the timers on pedestrian crossings like the one on North Terrace outside Parliament House, which goes for a lot longer than some others. He observed when he was here that anyone moving slowly—an older person, a person with a disability or a parent with a pram—would only be halfway across when the lights turned green for the cars to move. He made the point that age-friendly communities are friendly to everyone, because they take into account so much diversity in our interests and capacities.

At a state level, agencies like the Office for Ageing Well and the Adult Safeguarding Unit, along with mainstream services like health and public transport, provide critical supports for older people. A great example of the support is public education. Last year, I had the pleasure of meeting and getting to know Hallett Cove local Rilla McEvoy.

Rilla is a retired high school teacher who has provided dedicated service to our community over many decades. She is an avid user of public transport to get out and be part of our community. She is a great example of why providing free transport to Seniors Card holders is so important, to give back to those who have dedicated their lives to our community. I know the 9,000 Seniors Card holders in my electorate very much appreciate the ability to use public transport to help ensure that they stay connected in our community.

We have peak bodies like COTA (Council on the Ageing) advocating for positive policy changes, and various NGOs now operating intergenerational programs that link retirees and young people. I am sure you may have seen it, but I have watched the ABC program of Old People's Home for 4 Year Olds—and there was an Old People's Home for Teenagers—and it showcases the benefits of intergenerational relationships.

Last year, I witnessed an excellent example of an intergenerational program between Meals on Wheels South Australia and Sacred Heart College and Mary MacKillop College, and the program involved year 9 students. The first program I saw was for year 9 boys, and there were great benefits for these year 9 boys pairing with older participants from Meals on Wheels, so Meals on Wheels customers, workers, old scholars or community members. They started with writing letters to each other and then had face-to-face meetings.

The benefits of the program were really clear—very obvious—firstly, in breaking down stereotypes, building connection and wellbeing and, for the students in particular, helping them to improve their communication. I would say that unfortunately year 9s have a long way to go in learning how to write a letter, and a program like this helped them. Providing those social connections for older participants as well was fantastic to see. They had a lunch at the West Adelaide Football Club, and it was terrific to observe these amazing interactions between them. These are the types of intergenerational programs that we need.

Community centres have seen big growth under the Malinauskas Labor government and, as I mentioned in my maiden speech, my mum spent a long time coordinating community centres. They provide fantastic support for our community.

The Malinauskas government made changes to the National Construction Code so that homes are more accessible and adaptable. It passed changes to the Retirement Villages Act while the commonwealth, at almost exactly the same time, passed big reforms to aged-care services. With the demographic changes continuing to flow through, and so many moving parts on policy and programs, now is the time for parliament to take stock of where we are and where we are going.

The Social Development Committee has a great opportunity to consider how we can ensure communities be more productive and more inclusive by being more age friendly. I commend the motion to the house.

Motion carried.

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