Peters Winston: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Peters Winston: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:624;Page:19692] 
3.  
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Leader—NZ First) 
 to the  
Minister for Social Development and Employment 
: How much additional money per week are senior citizens likely to receive as a result of the Working for Families package? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY (Minister for Social Development and Employment) 
: 
 I am advised that just over 2700 people on superannuation and veterans pensions have already received extra income from the Working for Families package—mostly from accommodation supplement changes. The exact gain would depend on individual circumstances. A very small number of senior citizens looking after dependent children will also gain from other aspects of the package. Senior citizens have not had to wait for the Working for Families package of course to receive assistance from this Government. One of the first things we did was to restore the 65 percent wage floor for New Zealand Superannuation from April 2000 at a cost of over $800 million over 4 years. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Can the Minister therefore confirm that his refusal to answer the question—which asked how much—applies to all but 2700 and confirm that even for that number he has refused to outline the amount they will get; in short can he confirm that his policy in respect of the Working for Families package simply does not include elderly New Zealanders whom most sane rational New Zealanders regard as part of the family? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: I am happy to give the member a breakdown of what each of the individual 2700 people plus those senior citizens who look after dependent children might get from the package. But I think that reading it out in the House today given that it is already 3 o’clock would be a little bit time-consuming. I have said that that number has gained from the package already and that a small number will gain if they have children in the future so I have not refused to answer the question at all. 
Georgina Beyer 
: What else has this Labour-Progressive Government done for older New Zealanders? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: Since 1999 this Government has reduced driver’s-licence fees for all drivers over 75 protected the interests of retirement village residents provided lower doctors and prescription fees for all those over 65 enrolled with primary health organisations funded the new older persons’ mentor programme phased out asset testing for long-term residential care established the New Zealand Superannuation Fund to secure retirement income for future generations and committed to doubling the number of major hip and knee replacement operations within 4 years. I will stop there; the list is way too long. 
John Key 
: Is it likely in the Minister’s opinion that the 100 single or married people who earn between $50000 and $80000 and who receive an accommodation supplement are retired New Zealanders; and if they are not likely to be retired people who earn between $50000 and $80000 a year are single have no children and receive an accommodation supplement could he just tell the country what those people have done to deserve an accommodation supplement when many hundreds of thousands do not receive one? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: I am aware that the member is referring to an answer he would have received from Dr Cullen in his capacity as the Minister of Revenue in charge of the Inland Revenue Department. [ 
Interruption 
] Whatever he was reading from whether it was from the Ministry of Social Development or the Inland Revenue Department I have here the answer to the question: “The client’s entitlement depends upon their income and family circumstances at the time of payment. This can change from pay period to pay period as these circumstances change. To get approximate annual income figures the statistics that the member refers to in terms of the $80000 and so on has annualised clients’ income at a point of time in a yearly figure. While this provides an indication of the spread in income of recipients results do not necessarily reflect the actual annual income that clients receive for the 12-month period.” Now if the member would like to go back to the question of the words I tell him that what this refers to is the modelling of the issue. No one in the $80000 bracket receives it. 
Hon Peter Dunne 
: When the Minister referred to the small number of senior citizens with dependent children was he referring to grandparents with responsibility for the upbringing of grandchildren; if he was referring to those people why are only a small number of grandparents responsible for grandchildren covered by the Working for Families package and not all grandparents and if he was not referring to them will he be extending the programme to include grandparents caring for their grandchildren? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: As the members of United Future know the issue of grandparents raising grandchildren—or indeed the issue of any relative raising a child—is under active consideration. Within the package we are talking about here we are talking about such people as the ones who are on orphans benefits and unsupported child’s benefits. Those benefits are going up and therefore those people will be receiving an increase. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Will the Minister admit that the realignment of income from 1 April is based on figures already 15 months out of date and does he agree with the reported comment in the  
Timaru Herald 
 on 15 January this year that said that superannuitants were feeling the pinch of a cold summer the rising cost of living and their superannuation not being kept up to 65 percent of the average wage; and why is he ignoring the 80000-plus superannuitants who rely solely on the pension as their only source of weekly income? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: No no and the Government is not ignoring the superannuitants in this country. As I mentioned before one of the first acts of this Government was to increase their income and they are now $21 a week better off because of this Government. 
John Key 
: I seek leave to table an answer from the Hon Steve Maharey in which he makes it quite clear that there are 100 New Zealanders who earn between $50000 and $80000 a year and receive the accommodation supplement. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is objection. The document will not be tabled. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I seek leave to table a written answer from Minister Rick Barker admitting that the rate of return for elderly people has gone below 65 percent on frequent occasions. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? Yes there is objection. The document will not be tabled.