Roche Denise: Social Assistance (Portability to Cook Islands Niue and Tokelau) Bill — Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeRoche Denise: Social Assistance (Portability to Cook Islands Niue and Tokelau) Bill — Third Reading[Sitting date: 18 June 2015. Volume:706;Page:4595. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]DENISE ROCHE (Green): I rise to take the first call for the Greens on the third reading of the Social Assistance (Portability to Cook Islands Niue and Tokelau) Bill. We are pleased to be supporting this bill in its final reading and we will of course be voting for it. This bill recognises and should recognise the special relationship that New Zealand has with the countries of the Realm of New Zealand: the Cook Islands Niue and Tokelau. It is a special relationship that has lasted a long time.This bill changes what has been seen to be an inequity. I have to say that the evidence we heard during the Social Services Committee hearings suggested that this bill has been a long time coming and certainly that is the view of my colleagues over here who were also on the select committee at the time. It was a special privilege to have the premier leaders of our Realm countries come and present their oral submissions to the select committee. It is not something that happens very often but I would reiterate that it was an absolute signal from these countries that a change to superannuation and the veterans pension portability is absolutely required for the citizens of the Realm who want to go back and spend their final years in those Island nations.What the bill does is enable citizens of the Realm from those island nations who have lived in New Zealand for more than 10 years after the age of 20 to return to their home country while remaining eligible for New Zealand superannuation as long as they have lived in New Zealand for 5 years after the age of 50. This provision was quite controversial and I want to acknowledge and thank the members on this side of the House from both New Zealand First and Labour who put up Supplementary Order Papers in an attempt to amend that provision in the bill because we do still see that as an inequity. What the bill does is allow after the age of 55 citizens from Niue Tokelau and Cook Islands to return to their home islands and to apply for and receive New Zealand superannuation and the veterans pension if they are eligible for it. The previous situation was that they had to be present and resident in New Zealand in order to access that superannuation.When the Act actually comes into being it will not actually affect a huge amount of people right away. Roughly about 250 only will be triggered into being able to access superannuation and the veterans pension. However it does give an opportunity for those many people from the three Realm countries living in New Zealand to be able to access it in the future which we do see as fairer.Currently according to Statistics New Zealand there are 62000 people from the Cook Islands 23000 Niueans and 7176 people from Tokelau living here and those are far greater numbers than the populations living on those islands themselves. It has been an ongoing issue that the local economies have been depleted of their greatest resource which I agree with my colleague Poto Williams is their people. So we have a larger number of people living in New Zealand then than are living in the Realm islands. But their connections are strong and their ancestral ties bind them to those countries and it is fair and reasonable that they return in their final years if they want to to take up their lives back in their home country. The depopulation issue has been a real problem and we did hear that from the leaders of those countries when they submitted but we did also hear that there was some potential for this change in this bill to enable people to return to their country at the age of 55 when they may—they may—be young enough to be able to contribute further to the economies in their home countries. But we are not sure about that; that was one of the reasons why we were quite keen to remove the 5 years after 50 rule.We are happy to be supporting this bill and to know that it is supported unanimously across the House. It is very rare that that happens and it is an unusual experience I have to say but for the people of the Realm and from the Realm countries I think it is something we should be doing to ensure that they get the best deal that we can possibly give them. Again I restate that I am disappointed that the National Party did not listen to the submitters that we heard including those from those nations’ leaders asking for more flexibility because they have been waiting and they have been negotiating with Murray McCully and others in the National Government for a very long time. So although this bill does not go as far as we would like it to go it is a step forward and we will be supporting it.