McAnulty KieranKIERAN McANULTY (Labour): In contrast it is a privilege to follow Jo Hayes because there's still so much more to say on the Social Assistance (Residency Qualification) Legislation Bill. It is my privilege to stand here and speak in support of yet another marvellous Government bill and something else that's going to bring some equality into a system that—over the last nine years one might think that the previous Government might have wanted to make some changes. But no. This Government within its first year sees an issue where there is some unfairness and looks to address it.Under the New Zealand Superannuation and Retirement Income Act 2001 and the Veterans' Support Act 2014 eligible New Zealanders can receive the New Zealand superannuation and the veterans' pension in what has been known and referred to tonight as the Realm of New Zealand. As a committed republican I don't like using that term so of course specifically we're talking about the Cook Islands Niue and Tokelau. Of course residents of these Islands who are also residents of New Zealand should have equitable access to the New Zealand superannuation and veterans support. But at the moment they do not.If they were to work in New Zealand as citizens of New Zealand but residents of those three islands for 10 years and then go back and spend the remainder of their time in those islands they currently would not qualify. We say that's unfair.Hon Ruth Dyson: It is unfair.KIERAN McANULTY: It is unfair. If they would otherwise qualify and they are New Zealand citizens living in those three Islands why should they not qualify for this? I commend the National Party—it doesn't happen often—but good on them for supporting this bill. Jo Hayes: It's our bill.KIERAN McANULTY: I acknowledge Greg O'Connor and the comments that he made about that—Hon Ruth Dyson: So was the last one and you opposed it.Jo Hayes: It's our bill. You're just picking it up and carrying it on.KIERAN McANULTY: Claiming the bills left right and centre. Thinking about the good old days—the good old days a few years ago when they were in Government. They're not now and they're slowly getting used to it.This is essentially about fairness. Just looking at the details about this it actually struck me—why hasn't this been done earlier? Why hasn't this been done earlier? I wonder if it's a case of previous Governments perhaps—and this isn't a dig at any particular party—not necessarily having representation within them that can bring these issues forward. I acknowledge our Pasifika caucus in this Government as well—staunch advocates for their communities and the issues that face their communities.Of course it's also beyond fairness; it's about relative issues around depopulation as well as the populations of these Islands—the Cook Islands Tokelau and Niue—decrease relatively and of course the diaspora in New Zealand continues to grow. We only need to look at the previous images of the last weekend's game of rugby league Tonga versus Australia. Wasn't it wonderful to see a proud Pacific Island community in this country standing there in support of their home nation playing against Australia? We have a proud history in this country and a proud connection to the Pacific particularly the three nations that we're talking about here today whose citizens are also New Zealand citizens. This bill addresses the inequities in the previous system and I have no hesitation in commending this bill to the House.Bill read a second time.