Grey Power March 2017

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36 NZ GREYPOWER MAGAZINE » MARCH 2017 Prime Minister Bill English says... We all value safety As parents, grandparents, husbands and wives, you value safety. And you’ll be reassured to know that New Zealand is the fourth safest country in the world. We want it to be number one. To make our communities safer, we’ve announced a half a billion dollar package to deliver a more responsive police service, prevent crime and victimisation, resolve more crimes, and more effectively target gangs and organised crime. The package provides funding for 1125 more police staff, including 880 sworn officers, who will help to make every area in New Zealand safer. That’s a 10 percent increase in the size of the police force. We’re ensuring 95 percent of New Zealanders will be within 25 kilometres of patrolling police, day and night. Because knowing help is nearby is important. A new 24/7 phone number for non-urgent police calls will be launched next year so that people can report suspicious behaviour or historic crimes, while keeping the 111 phone line free for emergencies. More officers will target organised crime, gangs and drugs. Police will work with other agencies to get drugs off the street and Corrections will work to rehabilitate prisoners. An additional 74 specialist investigators will target serious offending against children, as well as sexual assault and family violence. Surprisingly the most common age of an apprehended burglar is just 16 years old. So, we’re going to push harder to get these young people back on track. This means dedicating more resources to youth offending, burglaries and other community crimes. We’re about doing things smarter. Last year I was told about one family that police had visited a total of 87 times for family violence in the previous year. In 365 days, that’s an average of about once every four days. Rather than continue these regular visits, the police worked with social service agencies to identify one auntie the father would listen to. They worked with her to support the family. The number of call-outs fell from 87 to one. This is the kind of initiative we want to see more of because it gets results for New Zealanders. To ensure we get value for money for this $503 million investment, we’ve set some challenging targets. We want to see 98 percent of home burglaries attended by police within 48 hours, faster police response times, and 111 calls answered sooner. We also expect more assets to be seized from organised crime, fewer deaths from family violence, and a reduction in reoffending by Maori. This package builds on the 600 police we’ve put on the beat since 2008, and the half a million NZ First leader Winston Peters says... ‘Gold standard” pension for immigrants – we’re a soft touch New Zealand is seen as a superannuation paradise for tens of thousands of immigrants. Where else in the world can you arrive into a country, never work and pay taxes, and after only 10 years you’re automatically entitled to full superannuation at 65 years of age? Nowhere, other than New Zealand. National has turned New Zealand into a soft touch. Under National’s parent category, we’ve seen migrants flocking into the Prime Minister Bill English. to a pension. And ours is the gold standard, it’s for everyone with no means test. Almost 90,000 parent immigrants have arrived in New Zealand in the last 15 years, over the age of 50 – they do not have to work, pay taxes or contribute in any way to receive our NZ Super. That’s unfair to Kiwis who have lived and worked here all their lives, who have struggled over years to make ends meet, raise a family, pay their mortgaghours freed up by investments in technology. And we’ve already made it harder for violent offenders to get bail and sharpened our focus on preventing family violence. We’re unashamedly targeting offenders to get them off our streets, and investing in areas that country. A huge number come from countries that have no older age pension. The parent category has been an appalling drain on NZ taxpayers. It’s time for a change. Globally, 10 years is an unusually short time to qualify for full entitlement will prevent crime in the first place. New Zealanders should be able to go about their lives with confidence, knowing that their families are safe. The National-led Government is committed to making this a reality. Continued on page 37 $503m Safer Communities Package: • 1125 more Police staff including 880 sworn officers • All 12 Police districts get extra sworn officers • 95% of New Zealanders will be within 25km of a Police presence, day and night • A new 24/7 easy-to-remember phone number for non-urgent Police calls • Faster Police response times and faster answering of 111 calls Phone: 04 817 9999 | More info: national.org.nz Funded by the Parliamentary Service and authorised by Rt Hon Bill English MP, Executive Wing, Parliament, Wellington. NatioNal BeNefits Negotiated by Grey Power NZ federation inc. The following organisations are of benefit to Grey Power Federation and the membership at large. • ail insurance • Duty free stores • inter-island ferry • Grey Power electricity • Reduced to Clear (discounted groceries) • Challenge fuel Further details can be obtained from: federation office phone: 0800 473 979 email: fed-office@xtra.co.nz website: www.greypower.co.nz
NZ GREYPOWER MAGAZINE » MARCH 2017 37 NZ Labour Party departing deputy Annette King says… We’re travelling nationwide to hear your comments “It is my home and it is precious”, said Trixie Cottingham, a 96 year old woman who has been living in the same home for 68 years, half of those by herself. In early November 2016, Trixie found out that the 90 minutes of cleaning a week that she relied upon to keep her in her home was being cut so that the DHB could save money. After bravely going to media, the ensuing public outcry forced the DHB to backtrack slightly, cutting her support down to a miserly 60 minutes a week. Trixie was too tired to fight any further. She is not the only one who is struggling from cuts to our health services, personal From on page 36 care facilities, stopping telephone assessments for home services and making them face-to-face, and having consistent entitlement of home support services no matter where you live. The quality of aged care and home support services were investigated after concerns were raised by Health and Disabiles and all of a sudden their taxes are subsidising the retirement of people who are new to the country. The parent category has been an appalling drain on NZ taxpayers. It’s time for a change. stories like Trixie’s highlight the pressing need to once again take a hard look at our aged care sector and how it is and isn’t delivering for our older people. It is now 2017. It has been six years since Labour and the Greens joined forces with Grey Power and investigated the quality of our aged care and home support services. At the time, we attended 20 nationwide meetings organised by Grey Power with over 1200 people. New Zealand First is the only party that has been the true custodian of NZ Super. It’s been attacked, and knocked around by the rest. Let’s not forget that National, ACT and United Future are no friends to NZ Super. They voted down The result of was a report that contained 14 key recommendations to improve the quality of aged care services which included a star rating system of aged The quality of aged care and home support services were investigated after concerns were raised by Health and Disability Commissioner reports, media cases of substandard care in rest homes, and a report on aged care by the Auditor-General New Zealand First’s Private Members Bill which would have provided SuperGold card holders with three free doctors’ visits a year. The Bill would have saved on hospitalisation costs, and was fiscally neutral. They simply don’t care enough. The hit that the Kiwi taxpayer has taken from migrants benefiting has led to our Superannuation and Retirement Income (Fair Residency) Amendment Bill. It changes the minimum residency qualifica- ity Commissioner reports, media cases of substandard care in rest homes, and a report on aged care by the Auditor-General. A preliminary look at the Government’s actions over the past six years indicates that the majority of recommendations from A Report into Aged Care (2010) have not been implemented. And that many of the same problems with quality and consistency of home support services and aged residential care services still remain. Labour and Green MPs will visit Grey Power meetings throughout the country in February and March 2017 to hear members’ views on the delivery home support services and tion for NZ Super from 10 years to 25 years. This ensures a person has lived for a substantial part of their adult lives in New Zealand and gets a fair return on their contribution. It’s a simple, fair and common sense solution. Annette King the quality of aged residential care. We look forward to listening to your stories as service users including their ideas on what needs to be change. Your submissions will be used to update the 2010 report and highlight what needs to be done by a forward-thinking Government in aged care. We want to hear your thoughts on what is happening to our home support and aged care services. This is your opportunity to feed into our policies for upcoming General Election this year. We look forward to seeing you. Authorised by Winston Peters, Parliament Buildings, Wellington We want to hear your views. Andrew Little Labour Leader “ NZ Super is affordable. Don’t be railroaded into thinking otherwise. NEW ZEALAND FIRST LEADER WINSTON PETERS MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT FOR NORTHLAND “ Labour MPs will visit Grey Power meetings during March, April and May 2017 to hear your thoughts on what is happening in our home support and aged care services. We want to hear your stories as well as your ideas on what needs to change. We look forward to seeing you! Parliament office Freepost Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160 P: 04 817 8370 E: winston.peters@parliament.govt.nz nzfirst.org.nz Authorised by Andrew Little, Parliament Buildings, Wellington Little Greypower ad Mar17 V2 121Wx180H.indd 1 3/03/17 9:44 AM
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Grey Power March 2017

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