Simmonds PennyPENNY SIMMONDS (National—Invercargill): Thank you Madam Chair. My question is actually for the Minister for Social Development and Employment but I don't believe she's going to be down here so I'm hoping the Minister in the chair the Hon Kris Faafoi will be able to—CHAIRPERSON (Hon Jacqui Dean): Order! The member won't refer to a member who is not in the House—absent from the House.PENNY SIMMONDS: Thank you for your advice on that. I've had a number of emails from my constituents my retired constituents who took the opportunity in the middle of the year when the border was open to go and see grandchildren in Australia. They had often not seen grandchildren that had been born or grandchildren that were young and they hadn't seen them for nearly two years and so they quickly popped over there when the window of opportunity was open but unfortunately got caught over there. I know that the Hon Louise Upston has also been made aware of this issue and in fact wrote to the Minister asking if leniency could be given to the superannuitants who were facing having their superannuation payments stopped because they were out of the country longer than is permitted. So the Hon Louise Upston has tabled an amendment which enables those superannuitants who cannot get back to the country through no fault of their own—and in fact have been unable to return to New Zealand because they've been unable to secure a managed isolation space despite making all reasonable efforts to do so. We believe that this amendment would make a much fairer situation for our superannuitants who have been caught through no fault of their own over in Australia. While they can apply at the moment for an exemption it's not a particularly easy process. I've been through the process myself not as a superannuitant but as a parent of a child with a disability when overseas is in the same situation. It isn't a particularly easy process and we know that the stress levels of a number of these retired folk who are out of the country are getting extremely high. They rely on their superannuation payments to live on and they are concerned that they're having to live off family if their superannuation payments are stopped and they are concerned with the process of essentially having to go begging to have what is their entitlement continued. The Hon Louise Upston has put forward this amendment and we would like to know if the Government is going to support this amendment because it seems a very reasonable thing to do—a very kind thing to do in fact. If the Government is not going to support this amendment we would be very keen to know why they want to continue this situation for our superannuitants who are caught as we've said through no fault of their own. Many of them are not as technologically savvy and so are not able to get on and stay on the internet and try and win one of the lottery managed isolation and quarantine rooms. They don't perhaps have that level of technical ability and so they are really being left in a very very difficult situation becoming very stressed by the situation and it would be seen I think as a very sensible and reasonable thing for this Government to support the amendment that has been put forward in the name of the Hon Louise Upston to amend the New Zealand Superannuation and Retirement Income Act 2001. Thank you Madam Chair.