Cabinet papers 1998-99: An older populace calls for new ideas

The ageing population was at the forefront of the federal cabinet’s thinking in June 1998.

The ageing population was at the forefront of the federal cabinet’s thinking in June 1998 as it looked to flesh out how it would deliver its National Strategy for an Ageing Australia.

With the International Year of Older Persons looming in 1999, Coalition family services minister Warwick Smith took a plan to cabinet that framed the issues confronting a growing cohort of older Australians and proposed a collegiate ­approach with the states.

But with broader budgetary considerations in mind, and under the same direction as other ministers that any spending initiatives must be offset by savings, Mr Smith’s submission included a commitment that the national strategy would “not encourage ­expectations of additional commonwealth expenditure”.

The submission said the impact and potential policy responses to an ageing population should ­revolve around four themes: independence and self-provision; world-class care; attitudes, lifestyle and community support; and healthy ageing.

“Australia’s population is ageing and in international terms we are ageing relatively fast, though from a younger base than most ­developed countries,” the submission noted.

“In the next two decades the proportion of our population aged over 65 will grow from 12 per cent to over 16 per cent. (And) the number of people in Australia aged 80 and over is expected to grow by 63 per cent from just under 500,000 people in 1996 to about 800,000 people by 2016.

“This will have important ramifications for many aspects of public policy including health, retire­ment incomes, housing, employ­­­ment, social security, aged care, tourism, the arts and in a range of other areas,” it said.

Australian Bureau of Statistics data bears out the accuracy of the projections, with the proportion of the population aged over 65 sitting at 15.9 per cent in 2019.

With cabinet having already agreed in principle to a national ageing strategy in December 1997, Mr Smith’s implementation proposal called for the establishment of a ministerial reference group to co-ordinate ageing-­related issues across all portfolios, and an interdepartmental committee and state government involvement in the development of initiatives.

While the concept of an ageing strategy was broadly welcomed, there were reservations from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet about the devolution of authority away from cabinet.

The submission proposed an Australian angle to the Inter­national Year of Older Persons, and cabinet agreed the national theme should be “Australia: ­Towards a Society for All Ages”.

The strategy was published in October 2001 under new minister for ageing Kevin Andrews.