SpeechNEW ZEALAND SUPERANNUATION AND RETIREMENT INCOME (FAIR RESIDENCY) AMENDMENT BILLFirst ReadingMARK PATTERSON (NZ First): I move That the New Zealand Superannuation and Retirement Income (Fair Residency) Amendment Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Finance and Expenditure Committee to consider the bill.It is a great honour to have the opportunity to bring this longstanding New Zealand First policy to the House. In its construct it is a very simple and narrow bill but it is a significant one. It seeks to increase the period of residency required to qualify for New Zealand superannuation from 10 years to 20 years between the ages of 20 and 65. At its heart this bill is about fairness fairness to New Zealanders who have worked and paid taxes here [Interruption]ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Ruth Dyson): Sorry I wonder if members could take their conversations outside or keep a bit quiet. It's hard to hear Mr Patterson; he's got such a quiet voice.MARK PATTERSON: Thank you Madam Speaker. It is simply unfair for expatriate New Zealanders those that have been out of the country for extended periods contributing to other economies and recent immigrants to be able to receive the same benefits upon turning 65 as those of us that have been here doing the hard yards at home paying our taxes and contributing to our economy. New Zealanders are by and large a generous people but on this issue we have been a soft touch. In many other similar jurisdictions qualification for equivalent pension schemes ranges between 25 and 30 years. In bringing this bill into law New Zealand would still be towards the lower end of the qualification period by international standards.It is interesting to note that the current 10-year threshold came into law in 1938 when life expectancy for men was 65 and for women 68. This bill is long overdue. New Zealand First has always championed the qualification age of receiving superannuation to remain at 65 and projections do show this is a sustainable level. But of course affordability for New Zealand super is important to all New Zealanders. It has resulted in having one of the lowest elder poverty rates in the world and added financial security for those who are heading towards retirement age. And I must admit having turned 50 at the end of last year I'm taking a lot more interest in the superannuation bills than I used to. Good stewardship of New Zealand superannuation will be important so it is sustainable for our children and generations to come. And while this is longstanding New Zealand First policy current events make the passing of this bill even more imperative as the Government takes on considerable debt to assist the country to recover from the economic fall-out of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fiscal responsibility in this regard has never been more important. Figures commissioned for New Zealand First by Business and Economic Research Ltd have estimated savings of $80 million in the first year and a cumulative total of $4.4 billion over 10 years. Figures done by the last Government suggest a lower figure. But whatever is true of these complex projections it is a material figure which New Zealand can no longer afford to bear. So who will this affect? New Zealand super is very generous for expat Kiwis who have had the benefits of our education system left for overseas at a young age and contributed to other economies for potentially 35 years then returned to retire in New Zealand upon nearing retirement age. The global downturn caused by the current COVID-19 crisis could see us facing a tsunami of expatriate Kiwis repatriating as they look for the safe haven that is New Zealand. Secondly over the last few decades we have opened the doors to a large number of immigrants. The majority of these immigrants will be unaffected by these changes as they generally arrive below the age of 45 which means they have the opportunity to live in New Zealand for 20 years which is required to qualify for New Zealand super at age 65. However immigration laws have allowed immigrants to bring their parents under the parent resident visa. After 10 years these new residents are entitled to full New Zealand super for the rest of their lives. Given the average length of claim for superannuation entitlements is around 20 years this amounts to around $500000 per person. This is exceedingly generous. It is worth emphasising that those who will have delayed access to New Zealand superannuation as a result of this bill and find that they are unable to support themselves will still be eligible for the full comprehensive backstop that the New Zealand welfare system provides in the interim period before they qualify for New Zealand super.New Zealand has reciprocal pension portability arrangements with nine countries: Australia Canada the UK Ireland Netherlands Malta Greece Denmark Jersey and Guernsey. Additionally a reciprocal agreement with South Korea is being negotiated. Immigrants from these countries remain eligible to receive their overseas entitlements within existing qualification thresholds. The special pension portability arrangements with 22 of our Pacific neighbours remain unchanged. It is important to clarify that the residency test does not apply to New Zealand tax residents working overseas. This includes staff from the likes of Zespri Fonterra foreign affairs and diplomatic staff the Defence Force personnel missionaries from New Zealand - based churches and maritime crew paying tax in New Zealand who are also not captured by this change. It is also worth noting that the requirement to be a resident for five years after the age of 50 is unchanged by this bill. I stand by the immediate implementation of this bill with a welfare backstop for those who are unable to support themselves at age 65 and who have not reached the 20 years' residency requirement. A phased implementation would be more complicated to enact and not get to the desired endpoint quickly enough.In the development of this policy I'd also like to acknowledge the large body of work that's been done by Professor Susan St John and Dr Claire Dale of the retirement policy and research centre at Auckland University who had advocated for New Zealand's super residency requirements to be extended to 25 years as did a report by the former Retirement Commissioner Diane Maxwell. New Zealand First has campaigned on 25 years being the threshold but in the interests of finding cross-party support for this bill I have reached a compromise position. I acknowledge that other political parties who have indicated their support for this bill in more recent times have come around to New Zealand First's sensible long-term policy position and I thank the relative spokespeople that I've engaged with for their constructive dialogue. In conclusion I wish to reiterate that this bill is about fairness fairness to those of us who've contributed the most to this country. I emphasise not only in monetary terms around working and paying taxes but also in being resident here. We have continued the work of generations before us in building the very fabric of this country. We have coached the netball teams prepared the hangis at the marae delivered the Meals on Wheels and served on the school board. In short we have played a role in building the best country in the world. We built a country that expatriate New Zealanders aspire to return to to live out their golden years and immigrants from all around the globe are drawn to live here. It is for those Kiwis for whom I bring this bill forward.I commend this bill to the House.