King Annette: Social Assistance (Payment of New Zealand Superannuation and Veterans Pension Overseas) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
King Annette: Social Assistance (Payment of New Zealand Superannuation and Veterans Pension Overseas) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:653;Page:2239] 
Hon ANNETTE KING (Deputy Leader—Labour) 
: 
 Labour supports the Social Assistance (Payment of New Zealand Superannuation and Veterans Pension Overseas) Amendment Bill. I hoped there could have been just a little bit of charity from the Minister for Social Development and Employment Paula Bennett her knowing that this bill was introduced into this House in September 2008. I think that if I am right the Government of the day introducing this bill was a Labour-led Government— 
Hon Paula Bennett 
: No one remembers. 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: If the member does not believe it I suggest she picks up the Order Paper for 31 March—for those who do not have it before them—turns to the second page looks under the fourth item on the agenda and sees that this bill was introduced on 22 September 2008. This is a Labour bill. This is a Labour bill that is being passed under a National minority Government. 
I am very happy that National members have picked up this legislation and are taking it through the House. I thank them on behalf of superannuitants pensioners and veterans in New Zealand. But I would have thought it would not take a lot of effort just to acknowledge that two major parties accept and approve of this bill rather than to make a speech and try to make out that Labour did nothing in respect of it. A lot of work was done on this bill. In fact we consulted on it and I suggest that members look at the explanatory note of the bill under the heading “Consultation”. They will see that Labour consulted with the National Party the Green Party New Zealand First and the Progressive party before the election and got support for this bill before the election. The honest National members will acknowledge that that consultation took place the details of which are included in the body of this bill. So to come into this House and say that the National Party is the party of choice is just another slogan; this bill was a Labour bill and it certainly gives choice to a lot of older people. 
The Minister said that she wondered why people would ever want to travel overseas. But before I address that I have to say I am pretty insulted by her views about Wellington’s wind. After all this is one fantastic place in which to live— 
Nathan Guy 
: Only in Rongotai. 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: —and I am pleased to see that the senior Government whip agrees with me. He said that this is a great place to live—the greater Wellington area. The wind does not bother us. The Minister cannot imagine why people would live in any other— 
Paul Quinn 
: Doing a mayoral speech? Preparing a mayoral speech for the super-city? 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: Well of course I do not know why Paul Quinn lives here. I have no idea at all. He does not contribute anything except to have his tongue flapping for hour after hour. 
The Minister said it was hard to imagine why anybody would want to live overseas. But what has happened I think is that families have changed. I look at my own parents who are retired and living near their children. They live near one daughter and two children live in Wellington; we have only to go across Cook Strait to see them. They are very happy to stay put in New Zealand and they are well into their 80s. But then I look at the next generation and at parents like myself. My husband and I have children who live in Australia who have lived in Thailand and who move around the world. We want to have the ability when we reach that age to go and visit our children. Maybe they will come home; maybe they will not. But what has happened is that families have become mobile. They may be across the Tasman they may be back in the Pacific Islands and they may be in the United Kingdom and older people want the opportunity to go and visit them. Those older people do not want to have to go for just a month; they spend all that amount of money to be able to go for a much longer period of time. 
That is what this bill is all about. It gives those people the option—a choice given to them as a result of this Labour-introduced bill—to spend a longer time with their families and still receive New Zealand superannuation when they are overseas. I agree that the flat rate of 50 percent does not provide enough income in most countries where people would go and live so it is important that there is a higher level of income for those who want to live overseas—for them to be able to live overseas with some level of comfort. 
If members look through this bill they will see that people under the provisions of the bill will be able to receive payment overseas of New Zealand superannuation or veterans pensions based on a formula of 1/540th of the full rate for each month of residence in New Zealand between the ages of 20 and 65. A lot of work was done to find a formula that was fair—fair to New Zealanders who are taxpayers and who pay their money year after year in their working lives. It was to be a formula that enabled them to get the maximum amount but that still enabled those who had lived here for a shorter period of time to be able to have an increase over and above the flat rate of 50 percent. 
The bill provides for the ability to receive payments in other countries—not just one country but a number of countries. The Minister mentioned people who live on boats and who want to travel around the Greek islands or go yachting off the coast of Australia or who want to be in an old combivan and go around Europe. People often do want to travel and live between more than one country. If people have one part of the family in Australia and another in the United States they may well want in a number of months to be in a number of places. That will be able to happen under this bill. 
It is a good bill. It adds to the toolkit if you like of things we can do for superannuitants in their retirement. I believe that the previous Labour Government looked after the interests of older New Zealanders and veterans and I think this is another part of providing a much better ability for people in retirement. We are worried however about the future of superannuation under the new National Government and I think it is worthwhile mentioning that we put in place a superannuation fund so that our children and our grandchildren would have the ability to have superannuation when they retired. But we believe that that is under threat and we are interested to know what will be in the Budget and what money will be taken from or not put into the superannuation fund. Not to provide money into the superannuation fund is a short-term approach which could mean that our children and our grandchildren will be those who suffer. It is all very well taking the approach that we just look after today; we have done that for far too long in New Zealand when it comes to superannuation. 
I agree with Peter Dunne that we have agreement on superannuation in this House and across political parties whereby we have said we have to put money away for our kids and grandkids and for future generations. But now we have for the sake of short-term expediency a National Government looking at not putting money into that superannuation fund year after year to maintain its value. If money is not put in next year or in the year after then there will be a shortfall for our kids. Maybe the National Government does not care about that but I do. Our kids deserve as much as we have and in fact when their time comes maybe they will deserve more. We are very concerned about the National Government’s approach to superannuation. 
This bill when it is passed will provide an opportunity for superannuitants and veterans to take their pensions and go and live in another country for a period of time and with enough money so that they may be able to live far more comfortably than they did before this bill was passed. We will support this bill right through all stages. It is a Labour bill introduced in September last year but we are delighted that the National Government has picked up our bill and will see it through to its conclusion. We should be grateful for the sake of pensioners and superannuitants that there will be wide support for the bill in this House as it was consulted on before it was introduced and we had wide support from all parties for it.