Logie Jan: Social Assistance (Portability to Cook Islands Niue and Tokelau) Bill — Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeLogie Jan: Social Assistance (Portability to Cook Islands Niue and Tokelau) Bill — Third Reading[Sitting date: 18 June 2015. Volume:706;Page:4599. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]JAN LOGIE (Green): I rise to take a short call on the third reading of the Social Assistance (Portability to Cook Islands Niue and Tokelau) Bill. The Green Party is of course supporting this bill. We are united with this side of the House in disappointment that it does not go far enough. I will explain to members of the public what this bill is about. It is about enabling people who live in the Realm of New Zealand—Niue Tokelau and the Cook Islands—to access superannuation or their veterans pension after they have worked in New Zealand for 10 to 20 years and to access it without having to be in New Zealand on the age of retirement.The bill still requires people to live in New Zealand for 5 years post the age of 50 which is our contention with this bill. Partly it is because this has been an issue that has been raised with members in this House for decades. It has been a real concern for people from these countries who are part of our Realm. They are part of our family. They are not another country per se. They are part of the Realm of New Zealand. They have been saying that these rules have been creating an incentive for people to stay in New Zealand when they would have otherwise returned to their country to be able to engage in meaningful work pre-retirement. When we look at the example of Niue which for me is the most striking there are fewer than 1600 people left on the island and over 23000 are here in New Zealand. We can see the impact of this kind of regulation on that country and by virtue of the impact on them the impact on our overseas development and aid budget. So where there is a small cost here there is also a potential savings in overseas development and aid support from New Zealand. This is about seeing this whole situation holistically and addressing it holistically but also to me it is fundamentally a matter of respect.Two heads of State presentedbefore the select committee which is a very rare occurrence. They spoke directly to this House about what a difference it would make to be able to pass this legislation and to remove that 5 years post 50 years of age requirement. They said that it would absolutely assist their countries in reversing the depopulation building their economies and sustaining their communities. I think it is very sad that the Government has chosen to go only part-way in addressing those concerns and I think it is short-sighted. I do not think it makes sense in terms of even the medium-term economic interests of this country let alone those Realm countries’ interests for the Government to make this decision. I think it is very short-sighted and poor thinking.I do particularly want to acknowledge the Realm countries as part of our family and the contribution of the people who have left their countries to come to our country right here. They are people who have contributed massively to our economy to our societies to our academic sphere and to this Parliament for goodness’ sake. They are people who have died under the colours of this country in war. Where their needs are met only part-way by this Government I find it disrespectful and another example of unnecessary meanness. Although we are happy to support this bill for the step that it does take we are disappointed that it could not go the whole way in honouring the contribution of all those people. Kia ora.