Headline: SPEECH: GreyPower AGM, May 2014
SPEECH TO GREYPOWER AGM
8 MAY 2014, INVERCARGILL
Intro
Please can I acknowledge Roy Reid, Terry King, and Les Glassey, organisers. I’d also like us to remember John Jefferson and Bruce Purchase.
I bring you greetings from Ruth Dyson, our Senior Citizens’ Spokesperson, and our entire Labour team.
New Zealand should be the fairest, most decent society in the world. We’re a small nation with a lot of resources. We have a culture of working hard and looking after each other. A fair go for everyone, putting people first. Communities, not commodities.
Our old and deep commitment that everyone, no matter where they came from, poor or rich, city or country, older or younger, new New Zealander or Kiwi of many generations, that each and every one of us would have the opportunities to get ahead and make the most of our lives.
My vision for New Zealand is that we regain that sense of community. That we work together in the interests of people, instead of just playing politics.
And that we work together, government, community, businesses, to achieve real gains as a nation. Gains that are shared fairly and used to ensure that our kids and our grandkids have the opportunities they need.
The Labour government I lead will work alongside communities, and businesses, and democratic representative organisations – including GreyPower.
That’s because we know that the most effective decisions are made when government works with the people who know the sector, not just for them.
And when it comes to representation of its members, GreyPower is a superb advocate.
You are very much in touch with your membership and with their issues and are a great example of democracy in action.
That’s why the last Labour government worked so hard to forge a partnership with GreyPower, and why we have always kept in touch.
Why we have worked together on NZ Power, against asset sales, and to protect the interests of older New Zealanders.
And it’s why my promise to you is that Labour will maintain and grow that connection.
The current government hasn’t done that. They seem more interested in money and politics as usual than putting people first.
I can understand if it’s felt at times like your organisation has been relegated to the “just ignore them and they will go away” basket.
My promise to you is that we will work together in the interests of all New Zealanders, old and young alike.
And, of course, we’ve only just recently worked together with great success in getting the asset sale referendum up.
It was the great work of GreyPower, Labour, the Greens and hundreds of thousands of concerned New Zealanders that brought about the referendum.
And in doing so gave more than 1.3 million New Zealanders the chance to speak out about the sales.
Together we won. People voted overwhelmingly across the country to say no to selling our assets. And although the government went ahead and sold them anyway, they did so in clear opposition to the will of the electorate.
They had to do so in the bright light of public opinion.
We have common cause on asset sales and a common understanding of what we have lost.
Your members are of the generation that built these assets; that paid for these generators.
They did so because it was in the common good – these were quite literally investments in powering our future.
But your members are now among the many who are facing brutal increases in the price of electricity.
That’s not what the deal was and it’s not what New Zealanders want. Which is why Labour has stood alongside GreyPower in opposing these sales.
We can make New Zealand a better place for older New Zealanders, but only if we work together in a spirit of partnership and mutual respect.
In opposition we have worked side-by-side with GreyPower on issues of common interest. And we are committed to continuing that positive relationship in Government.
Policy
Today I’d like to talk about three areas where I’d like to put that into action.
- Cost of living
- Quality health services for all
- Security in retirement
Cost of living
In February it was declared that years of accidental double-counting of the accommodation suppliment had resulted in 15,000 super-annuitants who rented not being counted in the poverty statistics. Ministers knew that but were not upfront about it.
That’s 15,000 older New Zealanders who simply fell off the list.
These are people whose their lives are being curtailed, who are spending day after day lying in bed because they can’t afford to heat their homes, who are failing to get the nutrition they need, who are financially unable to participate in society.
This is unacceptable. It is being borne particularly by single people dependent on superannuation for their income and even more so by those in rental homes.
I want to congratulate GreyPower on their initiative with Pulse Energy, which is saving your members a lot of money on their monthly power bills. This is smart thinking and good work.
Our NZ Power policy will make your scheme even better. You’ve already demonstrated the benefits of collective buying power – with NZ Power we’ll supercharge that.
We’ll create a single buyer for all electricity with the muscle to determine fair electricity prices and pass that saving on to consumers. It’ll take hundreds of dollars a year off New Zealanders’ power bills and ensure that prices are properly managed.
Lowering power bills is the right thing to do for people’s wellbeing but it also has economic payoffs in terms of lowering the health costs of cold, damp housing.
Our Monetary Policy Upgrade, announced recently by David Parker will help older New Zealanders by help reducing older because we’ll have a stronger economy. We will give the Reserve Bank new tools and broader mandate to keep inflation at bay. And we are underling our commitment to compulsory KiwiSaver so all employed New Zealanders can save for a nest egg in retirement.
The Rates Rebate Scheme has fallen into neglect under National – they’ve effectively hidden this entitlement from the people who are eligible for it.
It is a good scheme. It helps people who need it most – those with little extra left from their superannuation who get whacked by a hefty rates bill.
We will ensure that people who are eligible for the rebate are informed about it – this money needs to be used for the people who need it most.
Similarly we will make sure that Work and Income once again tells people their full and correct entitlements, so that people who are currently missing out get better support.
We’ll also address the cost of insurance with KiwiAssure because we know that for people on fixed incomes the increases in insurance costs over the last few years have made meeting ends meet even harder. KiwiAssure will be a publicly-owned player into the insurance market to ensure that rates are competitive. Just like Kiwibank.
We will also continue to take the supermarket duopoly to task. We need greater transparency so that we can be certain that the price New Zealanders pay for food is fair. We support the work of the Commerce Commission in this sector and others, to be a watchdog for competition and prices for ordinary Kiwis.
Quality public health for all
In health services, the most critical concern is in the lack of training and the low wages that caregivers, both in the home and in rest homes receive.
And we are hearing of another round of cutbacks in home help in this region. It’s happening now. And it’s wrong.
Let me reaffirm right upfront Labour’s commitment to supporting older New Zealanders to live in dignity in the home of their choosing. It makes no sense to see older New Zealanders moved out of their houses, and sometimes in the hospital system, when with appropriate support they can live more gracefully with their families and their memories around them.
A little bit of help can make the difference between staying safely at home or being forced to move to a rest home.
Labour says that everyone should have the support they need to stay safe and well in their own home for as long as they choose.
And it should be their choice. Not one dictated by health cuts signed off by the current National Government.
We are committed to moving to a situation where all caregivers are appropriately trained.
But training alone isn’t enough. By raising the minimum wage in our first 100 days, and again in 2015, and by extending the Living Wage as we can afford it including through incentives to Living Wage employers, we’ll also ensure that caregivers are paid fairly for the job they do.
It’s absolutely vital that we look after the people who look after our older citizens so they can do their very best by them.
Labour is committed to increasing home care and ensuring more older New Zealanders have the choice to live in their own homes and live their lives freely.
Fixing this isn’t just a social imperative, but also makes economic sense – it is far better to have people living productive lives in their own communities than it is to have them moved into costly care facilities.
Security in retirement
Aging with dignity and support in the home of your choosing is best for the individual, the family and the community too.
Our values are that people matter most, and that communities are not commodities.
Labour will provide security in retirement.
Just last month it was reported in your local paper that referrals to Age Concern Southland have more than doubled in a year.
We’ll create an Aged Care Commissioner tasked as a watchdog for the rights of older New Zealanders – as New Zealand’s population ages we need to ensure that there is a strong voice able to draw attention to problems and provide recommendations for solutions.
We will also commit to bringing the Minister for Senior Citizens back into cabinet as part of our push to ensure that the issues and needs of older New Zealanders have a dedicated voice within government.
Increasingly we’re hearing stories of older New Zealanders suffering under a straining health system, having difficulties with care, becoming victims of fraud and other crimes.
These are issues that are not going away and that are often the result of underlying systemic problems.
By creating a watchdog to specifically address these systemic problems, Labour will ensure that they are fixed and not forgotten.
We are also going to ensure the ongoing security of New Zealand Super for all New Zealanders, both for this generation and for future generations.
The current Prime Minister is not being truthful to New Zealanders. He knows there is a huge funding gap for New Zealand Super.
The Retirement Commissioner has repeatedly warned of this. Treasury has confirmed it.
The Prime Minister knows it, but he would rather play politics instead of working with all parties to find a fair a durable solution.
The truth is that as Kiwis live longer and healthier lives the cost of superannuation is ballooning.
That’s why Labour created the hugely successful ‘Cullen Fund’, to help cushion the costs – and Labour will be restarting contributions to the fund when we reach surplus.
If we keep the age at 65 it will be our kids who have to fund it, and it will be money that can’t be spent on investing in the health, education, and wellbeing of our grandchildren.
And giving plenty of advance warning is the fair and decent thing to do, so that people have the chance to plan ahead.
This is why we have suggested a gradual rise in the age of NZ Super from 65 to 67 – at a rate of two months a year from 2020 to 2032.
It goes without saying that these very gradual changes won’t affect many people in this room. People over 59 today will not be affected at all. It is my generation and those who are younger that need to plan for gradual adjustment, not today’s seniors.
Alongside honesty and sustainability in superannuation, we also care a great deal about fairness and decency.
We recognise that there some are people who won’t be able to sustain work in their normal occupations until they are 67, and who will personally and financially need superannuation from the age of 65. We recognise that there are real concerns for people in manual work, or from communities whose life expectancy, on average, is currently lower.
This is why we are also introducing an exemption for these people set at the same level as NZ Super and starting at 65.
As much as this is a tough decision to make, it is one that needs to be made if we are to do the right thing by future generations and by those in retirement now.
I also want to be clear that we will not reduce the rate of NZ Super payments. We have no plans to move from the current indexation of NZ Super to wage movements. New Zealanders have earned the right to decent retirement.
Vision for the future
To make sure that New Zealand can sustain decent standards of living for older New Zealanders, indeed for all New Zealanders, we will need an economy that work for everyone.
First we need to grow New Zealand industry and keep its value in New Zealand as stronger businesses, and more secure, well paid jobs. Second, we need to support our industries on the journey from volume to value – from raw logs to timber products; from bulk milk powder to fine dairy products; from foreign flagged vessels ignoring our employment laws to sustainable New Zealand seafood and jobs.
We will drive the economic growth we need to help build a prosperous, fair, and decent society. This means building a strong economy, an economy that we own, and an economy that works for everyone. That’s why we won’t allow offshore investors to buy up farms over 20 hectares, or speculate on our homes.
I am deeply concerned about the fact that the next generation, for the first time, fears they won’t have the opportunities to do as well as their parents.
A nation in which they feel that owning their own home, being able to find decent work in their own home towns, being able to afford to have families – all of these things my generation, your generation, have been able to do – are seen as unobtainable dreams.
That Labour government I lead says politics for people, not for profit. We will never give up on those dreams. We won’t give up on you, or your grandchildren.
I find it heartbreaking that so many of our young people are having to leave our shores, to leave their families, just so they can get the opportunity to make the lives they should, by rights, have here.
It’s a terrible irony that so many have to leave New Zealand to achieve the Kiwi dream. And when they go they take a part of our nation’s future with them.
We don’t want to become a nation of “Skype” grandparents. Your grandkids need you in their lives, right here in New Zealand. That means building more good jobs with decent wages, so your kids – your grandkids’ parents – can afford to live and build their future here.
I can promise you that the next Labour government will work alongside all New Zealanders to change this.
We will build a wealthy New Zealand, a New Zealand that is owned by New Zealanders and is run in the interests of all New Zealanders – not just the privileged few.
We will build a country where your kids and grandkids have all of the opportunities they need to stay in New Zealand, to have good jobs, own their own homes, raise their families and grow old with security.
This is my vision. It’s a good and simple vision. A vision where people matter most. It’s what New Zealanders deserve.
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