Patterson MarkMARK PATTERSON (NZ First): Madam Deputy Speaker thank you. It's with great pleasure that I rise to speak on behalf of New Zealand First on the Rates Rebate (Retirement Village Residents) Amendment Bill. Forgive me. I actually thought this was a very generous and warm-hearted bill but after listening to that previous speech I must have missed some grim and oppressive details in there because that was a speech that was certainly short on generosity for this bill.I congratulate the Hon Ruth Dyson on bringing this bill forward. I think in this Parliament we debate some great and weighty issues—we've got one coming up tonight. But it's these nuts and bolts bills these smaller bills that maybe don't attract the cameras or the media but for the people that they are affecting they're actually really important bills—the people that Dr Russell referred to in her speech the people on low incomes. This bill of course seeks to resolve the anomaly of the situation where people in retirement villages that have occupational rights agreements or ORAs with their villages are not able to reclaim the rates portion or the rates rebate as their qualifying peers in private residences do. So that's an anomaly that needs addressing.I note that you don't have to be a superannuitant or over 65 years to receive this; you just have to be below the income threshold. I note that retirement for people under 65 is a really live issue in this House today so if Mr English finds himself on hard times we know that he will have some solace in this bill. We also know that some local bodies had already moved in advance of this to have formed some programmes to actually prelude this bill so that they already had moved in this direction because they have recognised that this anomaly is in place.We know that as Dr Russell said there are 226000 people now in these retirement villages and as the baby boomer generation moves into retirement that is only going to be rising. It had been rising at the previous census at 22 percent over that period and it will only be rising much quicker now. We know that the maximum pension is only $20290 for a single person and we know a little bit about the pension levels at New Zealand First—it's been pretty topical for us as well—and the rate at which we can claim the full rate is at $24790. If you're on that income $620 a year or $12 a week is a significant amount of money. It does make a material difference. I will add that that goes on top of the $700 a week of the winter power rebates that this Government has brought in. These are layers that you can see this Government is building towards helping these older citizens.We also in New Zealand First of course have been one of the great champions of superannuitants. In the coalition agreement the SuperGold card which had been woefully neglected under that previous Government is to be ramped up and revised. We also know that the cost of living for superannuitants—and I also have consulted the Parliamentary Library over this—is actually over and above on average that of the average citizen at 2.3 percent for the last year as opposed to 1.9 percent. Rates are a significant portion of that. This is a discussion that this House has to have and it will be having over this term: how our local governments can raise revenue without the blunt instrument that is rates and the flow-on effects to our citizens on fixed and low incomes. This is but a small measure in trying to mitigate that but it is a much bigger discussion that we will be having as a Government on this side of the House.I'll just conclude with New Zealand First supporting this bill. I'd just like to say that it gives dignity to our elderly and those that are on low and fixed incomes and we as a nation are judged on how we treat our most vulnerable. This is a good example of this Government recognising that fact—in a small way maybe but a small and significant way for those people that are affected. So it is with that that I take great pleasure in confirming New Zealand First's support for this bill. Thank you.