SpeechHon TIM MACINDOE (National—Hamilton West): Again I thank the Minister. We're both rushing so I hope the people listening will understand that that's being forced upon us but I transfer now attention to the issue of elder abuse which of course is one of the great scourges that our seniors live with. That can of course be physical it can be emotional or it can be financial—they're all horrific—and most disturbingly it's often perpetrated by those who should be caring either as family members or caregivers for the seniors who are being abused. So can I ask the Minister for an update as to how this particular problem is being tackled how much publicity is being given to it—and by publicity" I mean how much education is being provided—to try to ensure that everybody who needs to be able to detect it and prevent it is able to do that. What are the trends and how significant is this particular issue in the Minister's current order of priorities as the seniors Minister? Sorry that's a lot—a big mouthful—but I hope you'll have a go. Hon TRACEY MARTIN (Minister for Seniors): I thank the member Tim Macindoe and he's right that it's unfortunate we have a very short period of time for such an incredibly large issue. With regard to elder abuse from a finance perspective—from an Estimates perspective—there is money that has been set aside. With the joint venture there has been a greater focus and a greater amount of money has been set aside to support services that provide a helpline or whatever to those who are experiencing elder abuse or who believe they know of somebody who is experiencing elder abuse. I'm aware that some of our banks and other businesses have actually started to upskill their employees around the recognition of elder abuse. But I would have to say—and we saw it at the beginning of lockdown—that I think it was particularly interesting the way that seniors were spoken about by some members of the media. For example it was quite all right to decide that we could lose a number of seniors so that we could keep business going. I think that in an attempt to protect those over the age of 70 we saw some inappropriate comments with regard to how they should go home stay home and not be allowed out to get their food. What I'm saying to the member is that while we have invested more through these Estimates through the sexual violence and family violence joint venture work stream—and the Office for Seniors ran recently again another media campaign to highlight the issue and get recognition of what elder abuse looks like—we are certainly not there yet and any future Government will need to invest more. Hon TIM MACINDOE (National—Hamilton West): I had been hoping to touch on the issue of digital exclusion which again was thrown into sharp perspective by lockdown but I'm told by the senior whip that there's only time for one more so I do want to focus on what I think is a very alarming statistic and that is the rate of suicide amongst our seniors and in particular I'd just ask the Minister if that's on her radar. I had perhaps naively assumed before I took over this role for the National Party as seniors spokesperson that suicide rates were lower amongst the seniors population than in other demographics and in fact that's not the case but they are remarkably comparable. So it is a very distressing subject but it's clearly one that the Minister in collaboration with her colleagues will I'm sure be wanting to work on. I just wonder if she could give us a bit of an indication of the trends in the Government's work programme in that area please. Hon TRACEY MARTIN (Minister for Seniors): I thank the member for raising what is an incredibly important question. Around the mental health money that has been announced by this Government what we can see is that this Government has acknowledged and financially resourced much greater access to mental health across New Zealand. But the member is right to point out that the impression is when you are over 65—and it's on many fronts—that you have got a home; that you've got superannuation and so financially you're fine; that there are no challenges; that you've got a lovely life; and that you can go and just potter around and do this that and the other. That is not the reality for a growing number of seniors. Hence why as Minister for Seniors I have made sure that I have sat on as many ministerial groupings as possible to continue to bring that voice to the table. But what I can say to the member is that as part of the mental health money that has been put aside by this Government under these Estimates seniors need to be seen and will be seen inside that envelope. Vote Arts Culture and Heritage Vote Housing and Urban Development Vote Oranga Tamariki Vote Pacific Peoples Vote Social Development Vote Sport and Recreation and Vote Women agreed to."