Faafoi Kris: Social Security (Long-term Residential Care—Budget Measures) Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Faafoi Kris: Social Security (Long-term Residential Care—Budget Measures) Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
[Sitting date: 24 May 2012. Volume:680;Page:2511. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
KRIS FAAFOI (Labour—Mana) 
: 
 I would like to thank the Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector who just rose to take a call on the second reading of this bill the Social Security (Long-term Residential Care—Budget Measures) Amendment Bill because she took 2 minutes to speak to this bill as opposed to the Minister in charge of this bill the Minister for Social Development who said that this bill was such a priority for this Government that she gave it all of 1 minute’s attention in this House. It was all of 1 minute’s attention in this House. If this is such a priority for this Government why have the two Ministers for whom this bill roughly comes under their areas spent the collective wisdom of 3 minutes in this House—3 minutes—to go through the merits of bringing in this bill? It has been only 3 minutes. There was not one mention in the Minister of Finance’s speech yesterday—3 minutes and not one mention in the Minister of Finance’s speech.  
Hon Member 
: Not in the media pack. 
KRIS FAAFOI 
: It was not in the media pack. We are told that maybe there is a press release and I will take the Minister’s word on that. Apparently there is a press release. This bill has been the dirty little secret of this Budget. Where did it come from? It is so important and it is such a priority that we are in this House debating it and National members did not even want to talk about it—go and find the press release on Tony Ryall’s website. Fine we will go have a look but it is burrowed away somewhere I am sure in amongst what else he is saying about the health budget in this year’s Budget which was delivered yesterday. 
We are going to oppose this bill and we support other parties that are going to oppose this bill too. Yes we are going to oppose it because the process is poor. I have already mentioned the fact that this bill has snuck up on us. The people who are concerned about this in the community—the elderly and the families of the elderly—will not get to have their chance to have their say on it. As I think Mr McClay or perhaps it was the member for Hamilton East mentioned he thought that the measures taken in this bill would help the Government get back on track in terms of its fiscal plan. Well $4.5 million worth of savings in the first year is hardly a significant step change for the economy in order for this bill to become a reality.  
If this is one of National’s big ideas in this Budget I would hate to see the little ones. I would hate to see the little ones because this is going to save us $4.5 million in the first year. It will affect 170 elderly people around our country and their voice in this process has been taken away from them. I am sure there will be many many families around the country who are concerned about the welfare of their elderly mothers fathers and grandparents who are—[ 
Interruption 
] Yes that is a very good point Sue Moroney. They have spent their lifetime savings to make sure—they have done the right thing. They have paid off their mortgages and now they find the fact that this Government wants to take money off them. So again I make the point that this Budget has hit the young and the old and probably everyone else in between.  
This is another example another symptom of a Government with no plan. It has no plan to deal with the big issues. Instead of dealing with the big issues it is almost like a really bad horror movie where someone is doing the dishes and someone is coming up behind them with a dagger. You shout: “No! You need to address the problem that’s behind you! There’s a big problem behind you. Look out! Look out!”. But no that person keeps doing the dishes because the dishes are the right thing to do. No—survival is the right thing to do. Survival is the right thing to do and this Budget that was delivered this week is a bad B-grade horror movie. Unfortunately the people of New Zealand woke up and it was their own personal nightmare. That is why we need some real leadership especially the elderly people of New Zealand. They need some leadership on this area too. This is tinkering—$4.5 million in the first year and $16.4 million in the fourth year. Aged care in New Zealand will become an increasingly important issue for our nation. If we do not start addressing this in a way that is not tinkering—and this bill is certainly an example of that—we will have big problems.  
 That is why we need to have that select committee process so that people from both sides of the fence can have this debate. It would be an opportunity for that. But they are not going to get that. It would have been a great opportunity for Roy Reid and his team from Grey Power to come forward and say: “We don’t necessarily agree with this. We think that you guys should take a broader approach as to how we go forward and maybe work together across this Parliament to deal with how we deal with aged care going forward.” But we will not get that. Instead we get a piece of legislation that will do very little. It sneaks up on us; it does not even get a mention in the Budget speech. Apparently there is a press release— 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: We’ve found it. 
KRIS FAAFOI 
: Have we found it? 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: It’s a paragraph of something else. 
KRIS FAAFOI 
: Right. There is not a press release; it is contained in a press release. This is how proud National members are. They are so proud of it and it is such a priority that there is a paragraph in a press release probably at the bottom of the press release so it is camouflaged in this Budget. If this was such a priority why was it not in the first paragraph of the Minister of Finance’s Budget speech? What we get is more contempt for the New Zealand people more contempt for our elderly and in a previous bill that this House considered contempt for our paper boys and paper girls around the country.  
What we have got here is another example of bad process in this Government. It is taking away the voices of our elderly and their families who should get to have their say on this. As I mentioned in my first reading speech we should hear from the other side too because I did see a press release out from Martin Taylor from the Aged Care Association. We should let him have his say as well. But no this is going through under urgency under dodgy process. No one gets to have a say on it but this is the way the Government wants to do the business on this. This is the way the Government wants to do business on this on a very very important issue that is facing our nation.  
This is another example of a lack of leadership for this country. We were looking for leadership in terms of growth in terms of how we create jobs and in terms of how we look after our elderly. What do we get? What do we get? We get tinkering around the edges. It is the low-hanging fruit strategy from the Government: let us steal a little bit from the paper boys and the paper girls let us take a little bit off our elderly. We will not tell them about it; we will just thrust it upon them in a very dodgy process in this House. Let them have their say. Let them have their say on this one because the 170 elderly people in New Zealand whom this is going to affect surely should be able to have their say. And the 610 in 2015-16 should be able to have their say as well. 
Denis O’Rourke 
: And their families. 
KRIS FAAFOI 
: And their families. They are taking money away from some of our most vulnerable citizens in this country. They are people who have paid taxes all through their life they have done the right thing they bought a house and they have built up their assets and this is how the Government treats them. This is how it treats them. Do the right thing and make sure that you give these people their say and give the other side a say too. 
Hon Maurice Williamson 
: Do the right thing and sit down. 
KRIS FAAFOI 
: You should stay sitting down too. I am sorry Mr Assistant Speaker the member should stay sitting down. But again this bill is another example of lack of leadership. They have a crack at the oldies they have a crack at the youngies and they are probably going to have a crack at everyone else in between. But we have not found that press release yet.