Profile: Michael O'Neill
By Lucinda Schmidt | theage.com.au | 10 June
Running Australia's largest seniors organisation for the past 18 months has given Michael O'Neill a new perspective on the over-50s. O'Neill, 52, is chief executive of National Seniors Australia, which has 280,000 members, most aged in their 60s and 70s.
"Obviously I better understand the issues," he says. "But I also better appreciate the wisdom that seniors bring to discussions and debate - which I think we underestimate." He's now more patient, he believes, with his mother and mother-in-law, both in their late 70s.
National Seniors Australia is quite a change for O'Neill, who trained as an economist and spent much of his career as a lobbyist for the agriculture sector, including seven years as head of the Queensland Farmers' Federation and five years running AgForce, Queensland's agricultural lobby group representing cattle, grain and sheep producers.
For the two years before he joined National Seniors Australia, O'Neill switched to lobbying for gold producers, at the Melbourne-based Australian Gold Council (which has now merged with the Minerals Council of Australia).
O'Neill says his move to National Seniors Australia, after being made redundant in the Minerals Council merger, was all about trying something different from agriculture and resources. He was also attracted to the diversity of the organisation, which owns a travel business and an insurance company, publishes a magazine and operates a charitable foundation.
But one key skill remains the same across all his jobs. "You have to get the ear of government and chew it and try to push a point of view," he says, noting that the over-65s presently comprise 12 per cent of the population but that will rise to 25 per cent by 2020.
O'Neill nominates his top issue as the aged pension.
He's particularly concerned about single pensioners (70 per cent of them women) living on $273 a week, when their rates, insurance and utilities bills are not that much less than couples, who get $456.
O'Neill would like to increase the single pension to two-thirds of the couple's pension. More fundamentally, however, he'd like a total review of how the pension is calculated.
"Get a whiteboard, work out the basket," he says. "The Government needs to do a proper analysis." Second on O'Neill's wish list is fixing employment problems for older workers. Surveys of National Seniors Australia members show most want to work, to build up their super and because they recognise that an active working life can improve health prospects.
But O'Neill says that, despite the skills shortage, there's still bias against older workers. He applauds initiatives such as St George Bank's policy allowing grandparents six months off in the first two years of their grandchild's life. But he says there are still plenty of companies that won't allow older workers to reduce their hours and the superannuation system (which does not require companies to pay the 9 per cent SGC for workers over 69 and does not allow workers over 75 to contribute to super at all) is another example of age discrimination.
"There are some good signs there but there is still quite a long way to go," O'Neill says.
The big questions
Biggest break Being retrenched from the Australian Gold Council. I picked up a job in Brisbane quite quickly, sold our home in Melbourne at a premium and the retrenchment money made a substantial contribution to my super.
Biggest achievement Being able to work across diverse areas, including agriculture, mining and ageing.
Biggest regret When the price of gold was $400 an ounce in 2005, I'd talk up the prospects of the sector with global experts saying it would reach $1000. But I didn't invest in any of the gold-producing companies.
Best investment My house in Caulfield, North [Melbourne]. We had 30 per cent capital growth in 18 months and the sale was CGT free.
Worst investment Rental property in Brisbane in the late 1990s. Despite "regular" inspections by the real estate agent, the tenants operated a large hydroponics marijuana enterprise in the ceiling. The cops raided it and the whole place was trashed.
Attitude to money It's a bit like a house. Health and happiness are the foundations and walls, while money enables you to put in the extras like air-conditioning and painting it.
Personal philosophy Live for the day and always try to have the glass half full not half empty. Try to recognise that every person has something to offer.
First published by TheAge.com.au on June 10 2008
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