THE HON MARK DREYFUS QC MP
SHADOW ATTORNEY GENERAL
SHADOW MINISTER FOR THE ARTS
MEMBER FOR ISAACS
THE HON SHAYNE NEUMANN MP
SHADOW MINISTER FOR AGEING
SHADOW MINISTER FOR INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS
MEDIA RELEASE
GOVERNMENT MUST TAKE ACTION OVER AGE DISCRIMINATION
Labor has called on the Abbott Government to restore a key advisory panel that examined how to reduce age discrimination against workers and jobseekers over 50.
Findings in a survey commissioned by Age Discrimination Commissioner Susan Ryan, has reaffirmed the need for the Panel on the Economic Potential of Senior Australians, scrapped by the Abbott Government in 2013.
This survey shows why the Government needs to engage with Australians over the age of 50, to tackle age discrimination and offer support to seniors who want to work, Mr Dreyfus said.
Labor has always been committed to tackling age discrimination and supporting seniors who want to work. We established the Age Discrimination Commissioner and appointed Susan Ryan to the position.
When in Government, Labor set up the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) Inquiry into legal barriers to mature age employment and established the Panel for the Economic Potential of Senior Australians.
By contrast, the Abbott Government has diluted the role of the Age Discrimination Commissioner and abolished the Panel for the Economic Potential of Senior Australians.
Australians aged over 50 years have a lot to offer socially and economically, Mr Neumann said.
With the Abbott Government planning to push back the pension age to 70, its time for them to admit their mistake, reinstate the Panel for the Economic Potential of Senior Australians and focus on ending age discrimination.
In Government Labor delivered a Mature Age Employment package that included wage subsidies and assistance with recognition of mature age workers qualifications and experience, along with the Seniors Work Bonus that allowed pensioners to keep more of their pension when they work.
THURSDAY, 23 APRIL 2015
