Ross Jami-Lee: New Zealand Superannuation and Retirement Income (Pro Rata Entitlement) Amendment Bill — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeRoss Jami-Lee: New Zealand Superannuation and Retirement Income (Pro Rata Entitlement) Amendment Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 16 September 2015. Volume:708;Page:6728. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]JAMI-LEE ROSS (National—Botany): I do want to just start out by politely saying thank you to New Zealand First for bringing an issue to the Parliament for debate. Respectfully the New Zealand National Party will not be supporting this bill and there are very good reasons why we are doing that.I just want to say to Mr Robertson that we have had a conversation with New Zealanders about New Zealand superannuation. It was called the 2008 general election the 2011 general election and the 2014 general election. At each of those general elections the Prime Minister of New Zealand has been to the country and said: “We will maintain New Zealand superannuation entitlement at the age of 65. We will also maintain New Zealand superannuation entitlement at 66 percent of the average wage.”That is a commitment we have made to New Zealanders after having a conversation with them three times during general election campaigns. We intend to stick to that commitment to New Zealanders because we are a Government that sticks to what we say we are a Government that delivers on what we say and we have delivered that for New Zealanders.The reason why we will not be supporting this bill on top of the fact that we have made commitments to New Zealanders is that we believe in fairness and we believe in simplicity. We are not a party that believes we should be attacking those who come to this country or attacking those New Zealanders who were born here who wish to go overseas make their way in the world and then eventually come back to reside here and contribute back to their country. Because a bill like this does that.A bill like this does attack and make it harder for those wanting to bring skills to this country and those who want to bring capital to this country. It also makes it harder for those New Zealanders who want to go overseas and have an overseas experience working for a number for years or who may go overseas to get involved in business and then bring those skills back to New Zealand because they are penalised for doing that.The New Zealand First Party is basically saying to New Zealanders that if you want to go overseas you are allowed to go overseas for only 2 months a year because that is what this bill allows or it is also saying you can go overseas for 5 years only between the ages of 20 and 65. The New Zealand First Party wants this Parliament to dictate to New Zealanders that they are allowed only 5 years overseas between the ages of 20 and 65 otherwise they are penalised for that. We do not believe that is fair we do not believe that is right and we do not believe that is just for New Zealanders.I can see that New Zealand First is looking at ways to try to reduce the cost for New Zealand superannuation. We have budgeted the cost for New Zealand superannuation for the foreseeable future. We have included it in all of our calculations and it is affordable at the rate that we are keeping it at.We are a country that for many many years—decades hundreds of years—has welcomed people to this land. We have welcomed them to this land and through our immigration policies as a country. We welcome migrants to this country because they bring essential skills to the country they bring capital to this country or they are marrying a New Zealander. Under the bill that is in front of us any person who comes to New Zealand and is not able to spend the requisite time that the bill dictates that they spend to be able to get full entitlement to New Zealand superannuation—and I say full entitlement to New Zealand superannuation—is penalised for that.That is an awful message to be sending people from overseas who want to come here. That is a terrible message. We should be more welcoming as a country. We should also ensure that we keep the New Zealand superannuation system simple. It is very simple right now. The rules are very simple and every person—every New Zealand citizen—is treated equally under the current superannuation rules. That is a policy that this Parliament should maintain that is a policy that this Government wishes to maintain and we will be voting that way tonight.I just want to conclude by saying that the solution to New Zealand superannuation and the cost of New Zealand superannuation is not to try to cut some people out of the pie. The solution is to continue to grow our economy continue to grow jobs and continue to grow wages in this country. That means New Zealanders have a greater entitlement and they have a greater ability to be able to afford their retirement.As a country the more we grow the more we can afford to support New Zealanders with dignity at the end of their life when they are in those final years of their lives after the age of 65 and are wanting to retire. That is what we should be doing: simplicity dignity and fairness for all. That is the way we are voting tonight.