Logie JanJAN LOGIE (Green): Tēnā koe Madam Deputy Speaker. It's a real pleasure to stand and speak to this the Rates Rebate (Retirement Village Residents) Amendment Bill at its third reading. I too want to offer my congratulations to the Hon Ruth Dyson for bringing this bill to the House and shepherding it through to what I am sensing from all the debate so far will be a satisfactory conclusion in passing this evening.This is I think an example of good local MP work where an issue is identified in the community by possibly not a large group of people but a group who have a real concern and they take it to their local MP and the local MP thinks about what they can do to respond to that community concern. The Hon Ruth Dyson clearly came up with a good solution because we're all about to pass that now. And it's been evolved along the way as is normal in most select committee processes.I do want to draw the House's attention to a fact of the report that was done in 2007 on the local government rates inquiry that was done in 2007 that identified this anomaly and problem and recommended that the rates rebate scheme be extended to the licence to occupy agreements which were excluded in legislation. For the entire nine years of the last Government they've had that on the books as a recommendation to them to act to fix up an anomaly in the law and to ensure that the actual intent of that rates rebate legislation as it was first introduced in 1973 was able to be realised in the modern context. But they didn't do anything and it took a local member responding to concerns being brought to her to be able to fix that. So I do again give credit to the member for doing that.As I mentioned for me and the Green Party this legislation at its heart is about equity. There's been quite a bit of discussion this evening about supporting older New Zealanders who are on fixed incomes to make life that much easier and this is on average $500 extra a year that people will get through the rates rebate. I think the figure of $620 has been mentioned as well. So it's not a massive amount but that is quite a significant amount when you are on a fixed income and dealing with the costs of life when we know the costs of living have been going up disproportionately to people's incomes. But it's not life changing as the previous member said in terms of it's not going to enable anyone to live a lavish lifestyle at all.But it is ensuring equity. We know that there is in some places somebody living in a home down the street on one income—a fixed income; say superannuation—and their house is worth however much—say $400000 randomly—and then there's a person in a retirement village in a unit worth $400000 and they are on a fixed income as well. They are both paying rates—for the person in the retirement village when they get their bill that they pay often it will identify rates on that bill that they pay to the retirement village for costs. So they're both paying rates they're both on a fixed income and they're both effectively in a property worth the same value that they effectively own but only one of them has been entitled to a rates rebate. That's inequitable and it doesn't make sense of the intent of the legislation as it was first introduced. So it is really great to be able to actually fix that problem and ensure that equity.It also is about ensuring geographic equity because there have been some councils that have been listening to older people in their local communities who are on fixed incomes and living in retirement villages who I can only assume were complaining about their lack of access to the rates rebate and that problem of equity in their community. So those local councils namely Auckland Dunedin Napier and New Plymouth actually responded proactively even though it wasn't supported by legislation and enabled those New Zealanders to access rates rebates proactively. It's been happening for older people in those communities but not in Invercargill not in Porirua not in Wellington—that's because those councils haven't been supported by a legislative mandate and only some have been in a position to be proactive about it. That's inequitable and it's good to get that sorted through this legislation tonight. The Greens are really happy to support that.Altogether in terms of thinking about the scope of this there are about 34000 New Zealanders living in retirement villages—so it is a significant number of people. About 80 percent of those don't currently qualify for a rates rebate because the original legislation as we've kind of canvassed didn't imagine this new ownership model that is now the norm. This will actually fix up an inequity that has impacted well over 20000 older New Zealanders. The amount of money may not be earth-shattering but it will make a difference to over 20000 New Zealanders. I think that's something to feel good about. On that note I will congratulate the member once more with envy for getting it passed and congratulations for being a jolly good MP.