Hughes Darren: Social Security (Entitlement Cards) Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
Hughes Darren: Social Security (Entitlement Cards) Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
[Volume:639;Page:9213] 
DARREN HUGHES (Labour—Otaki) 
: 
 I am really pleased to take a call on the third reading of the Social Security (Entitlement Cards) Amendment Bill which we are debating here today in Parliament. I think it is very important legislation for older New Zealanders and it is not only a good sign from a policy point of view of what we are doing for people over the age of 65 but it is also another reminder of how Government works under MMP. 
I would like to start off by congratulating the Minister in charge of the bill the Rt Hon Winston Peters. The card is not a new idea from Winston Peters—he has been in favour of it for a very long time. It was one of the things that New Zealand First brought to the table as Labour worked with New Zealand First after the last election to put together the governing arrangements for New Zealand. We have now been able to put the idea into legislation and make it happen. It is a good reminder of the way our governing system works under MMP. A Government is formed and other parties that support that Government bring their ideas to the table and we are able to turn those ideas into legislation. So I welcome this legislation not only for the policy and what it does but for what it represents as well—yet another contribution to the great MMP system that our country voted to have at the referendum in 1993. 
Speaking as the member of Parliament for Otaki I remind members that that electorate has a higher number of people over the age of 65 than any other electorate in New Zealand. 
Hon David Carter 
: They deserve a decent member. 
DARREN HUGHES 
: I say to Mr Carter that they have a decent member. I can assure him that they look at the candidates and make the right decision and that is what they did at the last election. It was a privilege and an honour to be elected and I hope they do it again. But I will not be taking any electorate advice from David Carter. I will not be going to David Carter and asking him for any advice on elections at all. Seeing that he lost three times on the trot I do not think I will be asking him for any advice—but I hope he dishes it out to his colleagues so effective has he been. 
I return to the point I was making about my constituents in the Otaki electorate. There are a lot of people over 65 who look to see what the Government is doing to make life a little easier. I think this Government’s record since 1999 shows that at every step we have tried to make a whole lot of improvements for people. This bill is just the latest in a whole series of attempts by the Government to assist those who have served our country in many spheres and who are now in retirement. 
The third reading of this bill will set up what we will call the SuperGold card. Opposition members have got themselves into a twist about the fact that the bill does not actually mention that name. We had a long dissertation from Sandra Goudie about that. What Sandra Goudie needs to understand—if possible—is that we are setting up a legislative framework here from which the card will be derived and will have its own name. We are trying to bring together in an easy and simple way for older people all the services that are available to them from the Government. There are a lot of those services—and Mr Carter will be experiencing them shortly—and there are also services and benefits that the business sector and the community and voluntary sector want to offer people over the age of 65. I am convinced that if we can have those all in one place—all with the SuperGold card—that will be a great advance for older people. 
One of the things the card will be able to achieve for us is a much more coordinated approach—not necessarily from the Government because I think the Government is very focused on having policies and frameworks for older people. We have an excellent Minister for Senior Citizens in the Hon Ruth Dyson. For a long time we have been trying to coordinate things better with such things as our  
Positive Ageing Strategy 
 and all the different work we have been doing. But for the private sector there has probably not been a mechanism for businesses to be able to put forward the services and discounts they might want to offer in order to get more market share. That has not been easy for them to do. So the Government is introducing this provision which is a very business-friendly approach in terms of getting access to the market of senior citizens who of course are a growing number in New Zealand. There are already 540000 people over the age of 65 and clearly that figure will continue to grow. So we will need to come up with continually fresh policies like this to make sure we are delivering for that group of New Zealanders. 
I was interested to listen to the Hon Ruth Dyson earlier. She reminded me that on 1 April this year—and this is another example of Labour’s working agreement with New Zealand First—the rate of New Zealand superannuation went up quite significantly. I have very good feedback in my electorate about this. The fortnightly payment has gone up by $26 for married couples and $13 for single pensioners. That is actually significant money. I sat down and worked out that for some married couples when that increase every fortnight is added up over the course of a year the Government through that increase alone is basically paying the power bill in their home. The Government has put in place something whereby pensioners can save that money specifically as a contribution towards the power bill. [ 
Interruption 
] Clayton Cosgrove has just interjected to say— 
R Doug Woolerton 
: He shouldn’t have done that. 
DARREN HUGHES 
: Doug Woolerton said he should not have done that but it was quite helpful. While I was talking about the pension going up Mr Cosgrove said: “Hang on. Haven’t there been times in New Zealand when the pension has gone down?” and in fact the Minister is quite right. Do members know what the National Government did in 1990? National came into office and said it was going to get rid of the surtax. Did it do that? The surtax did not go down. It did not get wiped; it went up. National campaigned on getting rid of the surtax and then put it up. Later on when it wanted to give tax cuts guess how the tax cuts were funded? Did National put the pension up to fund the tax cuts? 
Hon Members 
: No. 
DARREN HUGHES 
: Oh no. National put the pension down to fund the tax cuts. In order to make sure it could give tax cuts to people when it had the choice it cut the pension. Nobody would want to put that on a SuperGold card and the Labour-led Government with the support of many parties would not do that. But the National Party in Government when it was faced with a choice about cutting taxes went ahead and did that and paid for it by cutting the pension. It also paid for it by putting up university fees for young people trying to get ahead in life. That is what the National Party did for older people. It did not inflation-adjust the pension—something that Labour does every single year. 
The SuperGold card might also be able to build on some of the improvements we have been able to make in health-care services for older people. Every pensioner now has every pharmacy item subsidised and pays no more than $3 per item. It used to be $15 per item so for pensioners that is a huge improvement. The cost of going to the doctor has fallen as a result of the primary health organisation money that has gone into that provision. It was voted against by National. National members now say they support it. Who would know? Do members remember what National members told us in 1990 and 1999? 
I am also thinking of the rates rebate scheme which is proving to be very popular. It was opposed by National members though goodness knows what their view is now. They want to tell everybody anything they want to hear. So I suppose that because the rates rebate is popular they are now in favour of it even though they voted against it. It is just as well there is no electoral integrity legislation in front of Parliament any more because people who get elected on one platform by saying they are against things and then get into Parliament and say they are for those things disenfranchise the people who voted for them. That behaviour from National members was a good example of that. 
The rates rebate scheme which we have to try to administer more efficiently for older people has to go into that category as well. I think also that the KiwiSaver scheme which will be a saving scheme lasting over a person’s whole working life might be something that can be tied in with the SuperGold card. [ 
Interruption 
] I hear my friend from New Zealand First say it is a great scheme. I think it is a great scheme. We have to address the problem of people not saving enough in New Zealand. For every dollar a household earns it is spending $1.18. We have to come up with some smart policies to try to turn that round for New Zealand. That is very important. 
I remember the last election campaign when I campaigned on the KiwiSaver scheme. I said that for every person who joined the scheme the Government would kick in a thousand bucks to help that person get started on his or her savings. I remember members of the National Party at that election campaign saying they were against KiwiSaver. I remember debating on it with John Key in the House. He said it was so silly because it meant that one’s pool boy could get a KiwiSaver scheme. I thought that not many New Zealanders I know have a pool boy but that remark tells members about the Parnell side of things. But the link with the KiwSaver and the SuperGold card is quite important in terms of the savings people are able to make over their lives. 
This bill delivers actual benefits to older people. It is a very good thing. The reason a card is needed is as a means to keep all the data so that one can be sure of what is being said. With the flip-flops coming out of the National Party on every single policy I think every citizen should have one of these cards to keep track of where National is on all these sorts of things—so ridiculous are they in what they are doing. 
 What the Government is saying is that it will guarantee that people will retire at 65 and it will guarantee that people will get at least 65 percent of the average wage going forward—and I acknowledge the fact that it is 66 percent at the moment with the confidence and supply agreement. It is important that these things are guaranteed for older people. Unfortunately members such as David Carter vote to cut the pension. I am afraid it is pretty hard to take him seriously when it comes to dealing with older people. I know about that bunch over there; any time they have the chance they will vote to sock it to older people. I am not saying that because I am being unkind or ungenerous about them— 
Hon Clayton Cosgrove 
: That’s their record. 
DARREN HUGHES 
: —but because that is their record. I am sorry that so many new National MPs know so little about National Party history but the reality is that whenever they are confronted with that choice that is what they do. By voting for the third reading and putting into legislation the SuperGold card we are protecting that entitlement for older people and making sure that no Tory can ever do the old people in again.