Peters Winston: Social Assistance (Portability to Cook Islands Niue and Tokelau) Bill — Second ReadingText is subject to correctionPeters Winston: Social Assistance (Portability to Cook Islands Niue and Tokelau) Bill — Second Reading[Sitting date: 29 April 2015. Volume:704;Page:2977. Text is subject to correction.]Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Leader—NZ First):We have a Supplementary Order Paper in respect of this bill because this is a bill that is extraordinarily biased and prejudicial towards the Realm countries in the Pacific. Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully has continually emphasised the special and historic relationship of the Realm countries and the Social Assistance (Portability to Cook Islands Niue and Tokelau) Bill is doing just half a job. We appeal to the Minister to finish what he started and amend the agreement to exempt the Realm countries from section 8(c) and that is what our Supplementary Order Paper will be about.A concession to those who retire to these three islands is a gesture of goodwill and their special relationship to New Zealand—and I mean that with a capital “S”—notes that the citizens of the Realm country of the Cook Islands are born New Zealand citizens. The simple change in the rule means that you do not have to return if you are a Cook Islander Niuean or a Tokelau Islander or for that matter if you are a New Zealander working in the islands—you do not have to return and live in New Zealand for 5 years as is the requirement now. It seems illogical to deny a similar concession to a special group of retirees of the Cook Islands Niue and Tokelau as well as expat Kiwis who continue to be unfairly treated by the New Zealand superannuation system.You will recall that Mr McCully made it very clear that he intended to change the law and to give full portability to people living there whether they be from New Zealand or the islands without the 5-year rule and then he used the Christchurch earthquakes as the reason why he would not do it. With respect that is not even remotely reasonable. I want to ask members in the House how they can possibly sit there in this Government and the select committee for that matter knowing that 65000 people came into this country and after 10 years got full superannuation. There was no 50 percent requirement of course; just after 10 years they got full superannuation and there is the National Party excusing that absolute bias in favour of them while the special relationship countries which Alfred Ngaro knows all about are treated in this way. Fewer than 100 people would be affected—100 against 65000 now and rising.So what does the Ministry of Social Development say about that? Well of course it has got a deafening silence and I want New Zealanders to know just how unfair this Government is to those people whom we have known since the great Richard Seddon decided to go on an expansionist tour around the Pacific. This is history we are talking about now. We are talking about probably 100 people from those three islands being so grossly unfairly treated whereas people are coming in from overseas and in their tens of thousands—now 65000 plus—and they do not think it is anything of a moment at all. How can they be so biased? My plea to Alfred Ngaro and his other mates over there is to talk to his colleagues and try to get some sense into their heads. If you can condone 65000 picking up full pension and superannuation after just 10 years whether a contributor taxpayer or not how can you possibly deny 100 people in the islands this sort of equity?Mr Barclay has been here for about 5 minutes and he thinks it is a joke. Well Mr Barclay it is not a joke. For us who know the Pacific Islands and understand their peoples’ needs this is important to their development dichotomy of population economics and social life. It is grossly irresponsible to think as Mr Barclay does at the moment that it is a joke. It is not. He cannot answer the question: why should people come in who have never worked in this country and after 10 years get full superannuation? Any explanation for that?Hon Member: Who?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Who—65000 of them have come here. Mr Key was asked this question last year and like everything else he fobbed it off and now we are talking about these three countries that Murray McCully 4 years ago made a promise to fix up.I know that Mr Ngaro is an honourable man and I ask Mr Ngaro to put his career on the line here make a statement for his people. That is what he is in the National Party for. We do not want tokenism in the National Party. We want someone who will stand up for the very people he says he is committed to in all of South Auckland and places like Christchurch and all over the countryside where there are huge Pacific Island populations. Mr Ngaro stand up for your people now and be remembered for it.