Blue Jackie: New Zealand Superannuation and Veterans' Pensions (Entitlements of Spouses and Partners of People in Long-term Residential Care and Remedial Matters) Bill — In Committee 
Blue Jackie: New Zealand Superannuation and Veterans' Pensions (Entitlements of Spouses and Partners of People in Long-term Residential Care and Remedial Matters) Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:631;Page:3512] 
Dr JACKIE BLUE (National) 
: 
 I am delighted to speak to Part 1 of the New Zealand Superannuation and Veterans’ Pensions (Entitlements of Spouses and Partners of People in Long-term Residential Care and Remedial Matters) Bill. I would like to reflect on how this bill came into being. I think it is important that we go back in time and think about how it got to be here in the Committee of the whole House today. For that we cannot look any further than the Nelson MP the Hon Nick Smith. We have “Nick for Nelson” to thank for this bill through one of his constituents a Mr Page—an elderly gentleman; I heard tonight that he was 91—who did not need all the grief he got. Mr Page’s wife Mrs Page was in residential care but Mr Page was not given the living alone payment because his wife recognised him. If Mr and Mrs Page had been a de facto couple or even a gay couple or if Mrs Page had had dementia or had been in prison then Mr Page would have qualified for the living alone payment. It was just a bizarre set of circumstances. 
So there we had Mr Page an elderly man with an ill wife in long-term residential care going to his MP the Hon Dr Nick Smith—“Nick for Nelson”—who brought the situation finally to the attention of the media. He took it further than that; he took it to the Human Rights Commission. It took Nick Smith’s efforts to get this legislation into the House and it is Nick Smith that we and Mr Page have to thank for that. 
In fact as I heard tonight there are over 2000 “Mr Pages” living in this country. Those people have been sadly neglected and it has taken 5 years for the legislation to get to this stage. This bill recognises that it is more expensive for people to live alone. In addition the bill recognises and acknowledges that more incidental costs are incurred when a person’s spouse or partner is in long-term residential care. Those costs include travel and the other little extras incurred in making sure a person’s loved one is well looked after. So this bill acknowledges the extra expenses involved when a spouse or partner lives alone and looks after a loved one who is in a long-term residential care situation. 
This bill will also improve the lives of the veterans we have in our society. This year is the Year of the Veteran and we have to acknowledge that. Veterans have played a huge part in developing this country. They have served their country and contributed to it. Veterans of course have been a dwindling part of our population since World War II. They are diminishing in number. I went on a search and did a calculation to find out how many veterans we have in New Zealand. There are about 16600 and we have to salute them. They have worked hard and served our country well. 
While I am on the subject of veterans I want to talk about Nancy Wake. I am terribly disappointed that this Government did not recognise Nancy Wake in the recent Queen’s Birthday honours. She is a New Zealander— 
The CHAIRPERSON (H V Ross Robertson) 
: The member has to address the bill. 
Dr JACKIE BLUE 
: This bill is about fairness. For partners or spouses who have loved ones in long-term care there is an added emotional and physical burden so I am pleased that this bill will in many ways help ease their financial burden. 
Clause 5 amends the sharing expenses rule for the living alone payment so that the entitlement to the living alone payment is based solely on actual living arrangements and not as previously on income testing or on contributions to household expenses from others such as family members or other sources. That is fair and I am very pleased that the sharing expenses rule has been amended. It is now fair and just. There was a lot of negative criticism about that particular rule and I am pleased it has been amended in Part 1. 
I have done some calculations as well. I have worked out exactly how many extra dollars per week and per month veterans will actually get in real terms. My calculation is different from that of my colleague Nathan Guy. I calculate that it is $24 per week not $20. But he is right: it is about $100 a month so I am not sure where we went wrong on the calculations to differ slightly on the weekly allowance. 
Nathan Guy 
: Inflation. 
Dr JACKIE BLUE 
: That is right. That money is a start. It is not a huge amount of money but it will go some way to helping. We have to acknowledge that it is a start.