Grey Power calls for Government to respond to digital exclusion

Elderly Kiwis struggling with government web services are sometimes reduced to tears, according to Grey Power.

President Jan Pentecost says she has received many distressed calls from people struggling to access government websites and applications.

Grey Power, an advocacy group for people aged 50 plus, has been overwhelmed by those needing support coping with transition to the online world, she says.

Ms Pentecost says the Government applications online are suited to those who are “digitally advantaged”.

She says Grey Power members are frustrated because they are dependant on help to complete applications online that they could have done manually.

“Grey Power does not believe there is any [Government] solution in place to help those people who need to be able to do their business with government departments manually.”

A report published in February 2020 by the Citizen’s Advice Bureau titled Face-to-Face with Digital Exclusion reveals the inequities created by online government applications.

Sasha Green, the national legal and strategic advisor and an author of the report, said the research reveals there is an “overwhelming theme that people are being left behind and shut out”.

The consequences of missing an email from Work and Income can be as severe as having your benefit cut, says Ms Green.

“It’s not that online is not a good option for many people, it is just not the right thing for all people in all circumstances."

The Citizen’s Advice Bureau’s services include supporting people completing government applications.

However ,Ms Green says a lot of people are really struggling because of the shift online.

The focus of online government applications is more concerned with efficiency than people’s needs which creates inequity, she says.

"We need to have options for people whom that is not going to work for."