The Gillard Government today announced the full membership of the Advisory Panel on Positive Ageing, comprising a range of eminent Australians with strong expertise in issues facing Seniors.
The permanent Advisory Panel on Positive Ageing is a key element of the Government's response to the Final Report of the Advisory Panel on the Economic Potential of Senior Australians Realising the economic potential of senior Australians: turning grey into gold.
Today's senior Australians are better placed than earlier generations to live longer healthier lives. The Government wants our growing population of senior Australians to be able to participate in our community and economy however they choose.
The Advisory Panel will provide advice to Government to ensure industry and governments can position Australia to benefit from a larger, more active population of seniors.
The members of the Panel are:
- Mr Everald Compton AM (Chairman), who served as Chairman of the Advisory Panel on the Economic Potential of Senior Australians (EPSA) and as the Chairman of the Consultative Forum on Mature Age Participation. Mr Compton was also formerly Chairman of National Seniors Australia.
- Professor Gill Lewin, Professor of Ageing at the Centre for Research on Ageing at Curtin University of Technology and a member of Advisory Panel on the EPSA.
- Professor Brian Howe AO, former Deputy Prime Minister, Professorial Fellow at the Centre for Public Policy, University of Melbourne and member of the EPSA Panel
- The Hon Susan Ryan AO, Australia's first Age Discrimination Commissioner and a member of Consultative Forum on Mature Age Participation. Commissioner Ryan is a former Senator representing the ACT and has held a number of ministerial positions including education, youth affairs and on the status of women.
- Mr Neville Roach AO, Chairman of the Advisory Board of Tata Consultancy Services in Australia and New Zealand. Mr Roach has held a range of executive and board positions in the information technology sector.
Chair of the Panel, Everald Compton AM said: "The Panel is committed to the task of providing seniors with the opportunity to make a positive contribution to the economic and social life of Australia by ensuring that the ageing of the population is seen as an asset, not a liability."
The Panel will build on the outstanding contribution made by the Advisory Panel on the Economic Potential of Senior Australians and its final report, Realising the economic potential of senior Australians: turning grey into gold, by:
- Raising awareness and lead a national dialogue on ageing issues, including how best to harness the economic and social opportunities presented by an older population.
- Providing feedback to Government on ageing issues and comment on policy design across government on matters of relevance to senior Australians, including consultation with ministers and departments in areas including housing and employment.
- Conducing targeted consultation with key stakeholders, in particular the business community, on ways that the Government and community can increase the economic and social participation of senior Australians and inform Government of stakeholder feedback.
- Following up the recommendations made in the reports of the Advisory Panel on the Economic Potential of Senior Australians (EPSA) and the Consultative Forum on Mature Age Participation.
- Considering emerging issues as referred by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Mental Health and Ageing.
In the next year, the Panel will be working on housing, lifelong learning, mature age employment, volunteering, philanthropy and seniors and the digital revolution.
The Panel will be assisted by a Secretariat located in The Treasury. Those interested in the Panel's work or consultations can contact the secretariat at positive.ageing@treasury.gov.au