10. Hon STEVE CHADWICK (Labour) Link to this
to the Minister for Senior Citizens
What progress has been made on the Positive Ageing Strategy to ensure service delivery for elder abuse prevention to ensure safety for up to 50,000 vulnerable older New Zealanders living in their own homes?
Hon CRAIG FOSS (Minister for Senior Citizens) Link to this
The Positive Ageing Strategy aims to build a society where people can age positively, where older people are highly valued, and where they are recognised as an integral part of families and communities. Good progress has been made in this area and in a number of areas, including Link Age, an online resource produced to promote intergenerational understanding and respect through older people volunteering in schools. I believe that this is one of the best ways to change negative attitudes to ageing, and to reduce elder abuse and neglect. More examples of progress are available on the Positive Ageing website.
Hon Steve Chadwick Link to this
Why are there eight regions in New Zealand where older New Zealanders have no access to the provision of an elder abuse prevention network programme?
Service delivery components are the responsibility of the whole community, including police, family, whānau, and district health boards. Those services, of course, are across the whole country.
Hon Steve Chadwick Link to this
What advice has he given to the Minister for Social Development and Employment since his briefing to the Social Services Committee on 15 June where he said, and it was then reported on 16 June: “I wholeheartedly support anything that is done to turn this around.”; and why have those eight regions not got a contract?
I repeat my earlier answer: delivery mechanism components are the responsibility of all of the community, including Age Concern, district health boards, police, family, and whānau.