Dear Sir Madam, a song by Western Australian artist Kelea, was recently nominated for the WAM Song of the Year (Folk). The track, about ageism and unemployment, was featured by Ashton Applewhite on her social media, appeared on forbes.com following an interview with Richard Eisenberg and was also featured by Susan Flory on her podcast “The Big Middle” (US).

We spoke to Kelea about why she wrote the track. 

Why is it that when political leaders and the media report on a person who has died from COVID-19 they always tell us their age?

Are there political or media guidelines on how to report infections and deaths from COVID-19? If so, I can’t find them. Why is a person’s age a relevant factor to report?

Open this revolutionary book and you’ll be faced with some complex, but important, questions.

“With so many living so much longer, what is the meaning of the increasing years beyond 50? How can a society with more older people than younger ones thrive? How do we find happiness when we know life is long and time is short?”

While the covid-19 epidemic has severely affected the entire Australian workforce, it also presents an opportunity to build back better. In a post-COVID future, we can increase age-diversity in workplaces and better engage and include older people in work.

In the COVID-19 pandemic we have seen the surfacing of some deep-seated ageist attitudes toward older people on a number of fronts that need to be acknowledged and addressed.

In the COVID-19 pandemic, more than ever before, generations need to work together.  This is a joint statement of solidarity between EveryAGE Counts and our sister campaign, EveryChild - a campaign promoting the wellbeing of children and young people.     

Covid-19 is disrupting much of our daily lives, but not the desire to connect with loved ones. Technology can help, as Anne Ring writes.

This is a Position Statement developed by EveryAGE Counts in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic

In the COVID-19 pandemic we have seen the surfacing of some deep-seated ageist attitudes toward older people on a number of fronts that need to be acknowledged and addressed.

Start talking about the prevalence of ageism across our society and pretty soon someone will comment that we could learn a lot from other cultures and communities where 'older people are respected'.  While it is true that some cultures have very strong traditions of respect for and inclusion of older citizens, it is not the case that ageism doesn't exist at all.   Just like in western cultures, awareness and experience of ageism can vary significantly and there are many factors that influence it. We collaborated with the Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils (FECCA) to learn more about ageism in culturally and linguistically diverse communities.

EveryAGE Counts has called on the Royal Commission to explicitly acknowledge and address ageism in a process of redesign of the aged care system.  Failing to do so, we believe, will be largely ‘tinkering at the edges but leaving the foundations in place’.

“In so doing, the ongoing impact of ageism will continue to sabotage improvements and change in aged care and undermine quality of life for older Australians,” we have told the Commissioners.