Yates Dianne: Subordinate Legislation (Confirmation and Validation) Bill (No 3) — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeYates Dianne: Subordinate Legislation (Confirmation and Validation) Bill (No 3) — First Reading[Sitting date: 11 October 2007. Volume:642;Page:12333. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]DIANNE YATES (Labour): I rise to speak on the Subordinate Legislation (Confirmation and Validation) Bill (No 3) and I note that it will be going to the Regulations Review Committee which deals with this type of legislation—and a verygood committee it is too. It is very well chaired I might say. I note that there are 16 orders that apply to movements and particularly to social security benefits and superannuation. In the dead of the afternoon the people who are most likely to be listening to the House at the moment are retired people. This bill is absolutely vital to those people who are over 65 and retired.I suspect I just heard a new piece of National Party policy come out of Mr Foss a minute ago. I thought he said that superannuitants were not getting enough money. He indicated that superannuation based on 66 percent of the average wage was something that National would be looking at. We should look very very closely at National Party policy on this because I remind the House that in the days of Mrs Shipley—and I note that some present parliamentarians on the other side of the Chamber are likely to follow her footsteps—it was actually reduced to 60 percent of the average wage. Everybody I think who is over 65 and who is listening today is saying “Oh no not again. We do not want to have our superannuation reduced to 60 percent of the average wage when it has now gone up to 66 percent.”So this subordinate legislation is vitally important to anyone who is over 65 and that is a very high proportion of our population. I refer to those people who lived and worked to make New Zealand what it is those people who have an entitlement to superannuation at age 65 and I think some of whom are a little bit afraid as well. We have heard some statements from Mr Key saying that he was keen to raise the retirement age and he thought he would do it gradually and gently over time. No reduction in superannuation no matter how gentle and how gradual is welcomed by those who are over 65. I think those people would be throwing up their hands if they could at those comments from Mr Key. We are looking forward to the implementation of this bill which will bed in the provision that New Zealand superannuation will continue at 66 percent of the average wage and for those who are over 65 years of age. So in that regard this legislation is very very important. I am sure that the Regulations Review Committee will not receive any submissions on that provision because I do not think anybody over 65 will want that percentage to go down and they will be very very happy that this regulation will be endorsed by the committee.There are a number of other pieces in the legislation that apply as we have said to food safety to biosecurity to the export of live animals to fruit to vegetables—a whole range of issues. The issue of gambling as has been mentioned by the Greens is one that needs continual and continuous attention by this House as we have evidence of how gambling legislation is implemented in the community and what is happening in terms of the effect of gambling on people in New Zealand.I commend this legislation to the House. I am sure that the Regulations Review Committee will look at all aspects of it in great detail. It is something that we can look at and think is dead boring and very routine but my goodness for anyone over 65 it is absolutely vital that he or she gets 66 percent of the average wage and that the age of eligibility stays at 65 years.Bill read a first time.