Grey Power November 2017

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20 NZ GREYPOWER MAGAZINE » NOVEMBER 2017 Worry Less Live More This summer, keep doing the things you love with those you love! Radius Shop offers a full range of products to help you keep moving and living life to the full. Monarch Power Lift Chair VIKING Comfort with electronic rise or recline motion. $1,299.00 FREE SHIPPING! Shower Stool VIKING Enjoy stable and safe showering. Standard - $120.00 Padded Seat - $138.00 Abri-San Premium 200 ml-800 ml Light absorbency pads. 1A & 2 - $14.00 3 - $16.00 4 - $19.00 Car Seat Turntable SPENCER Turn easier while seated and travel in comfort. $139.00 Soxezy HULL Put on socks with ease. $22.00 Abri-Man Formula 450 ml & 700 ml Specifically designed for men. 1 - $12.00 2 - $15.00 Dressing Stick VITALITY Increase your range of motion to make dressing easier. $19.00 Elephant Feet DERBY (Set of 4) Raise chairs and beds safely. 90 mm - $90.00 140 mm - $90.00 Abri-Flex Premium 1400 ml Pull-ups with moderate absorbency. M - $28.00 XL - $32.00 L - $31.00 Helping Hand Sponge VITALITY Helps you wash those hard to reach places. $22.00 Ring Cushion MEDI-SOFT Ease pressure with a soft or firm cushion. Foam - $34.00 Moulded - $42.00 Abri-Form Premium 3600 ml-4000 ml All-in-one briefs with very high absorbency. M - $25.00 L - $28.00 XL - $31.00 T Handle Walking Stick LIFESTYLE Match to your mood. Lightweight and height adjustable. $44.00 Narrow Walking Frame MOBILIS For those of smaller stature. Colours: blue, silver or red. $218.00 Abri-Fix Pants Super (Set of 3) Designed to provide security with superior pad fixation. S, M, L, XL - $12.00 Call 0800 213 313 or visit www.radiusshop.co.nz Prices accurate at time of printing . All prices include GST . Shipping costs apply
NZ GREYPOWER MAGAZINE » NOVEMBER 2017 21 Cause for concern As a leader in the campaign against the TPPA (Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement) Grey Power has cause for serious concern if our new Prime Minister signs up to any or all of the pending talks in Vietnam. As you know, the TPP idea has been urged upon us by the global corporations for the global corporations. The involvement of our politicians is meant to give a semblance of democracy to the negotiations - but just sufficient to ensure nations surrender enough of their sovereignty to lock them into longterm obeisance. The carrot dangled before agricultural nations like ours is that the TPP will facilitate more exports, otherwise our balance of payments suffers. But, as Australian economist, Peter Self wrote in “Rolling back the Market”: “...the global expansion of [mercantile] trade itself intensifies environmental impacts. It requires goods to be transported over ever-increasing distances, adding to energy consumption, and it stimulates a very large volume of business travel to increase atmospheric pollution...” He also points out that the dollar gains from such trade are offset by the demands of debt-servicing. Actually, we do not need the TPP. As a sovereign nation we can arrange reciprocal and multilateral trade with any countries we choose - and transacted in our own currencies. Indeed, if the Labour-led government is sincere about rejecting neo-liberal global capitalist dogma, it ought to boycott the TPP talks. Too much to expect? Heather Marion Smith Social Credit Advocate for Seniors Gisborne Card to exempt members from GST… it won’t work Time to put GST misunderstandings to bed. My letter has been sparked by a letter from Peter Groves in the September 2017 edition of this magazine. In it, he proposes that presentation of a GP membership card should exempt the holder from GST. This is far and away the most impractical idea I’ve heard for a long time. To put this in perspective, as an accountant, I was responsible for understanding GST before it was implemented, then writing a manual covering aspects relevant to the large number of accountants in the nation-wide company where I was the tax manager, followed by in-house seminars. Then keeping them up-to-date with changes and the implications of any court cases which impacted on our operations. So, I think, even after being retired for more than 20 years, I can claim some knowledge of the topic. For Peter’s benefit, the regime which NZ instituted was based on having studied the good and bad points experienced in comparable regimes overseas. It is thus a relatively simple tax, albeit that hasn’t precluded court cases to clarify its intent. When I heard Australian politicians horse-trading this topic during an election period, saying it would exempt food & god (small g) knows what else, my first thought was – how bloody stupid! Let’s be quite clear – the more exemptions are built in, the more tax avoidance schemes and arguments there will be. Court time would be wasted and lawyers would have a field day. There are 3 rates – full (currently 15%), zero and exempt. I won’t go into the reasons and technicalities for these, but for all practical purposes, within NZ, interest and residential accommodation are exempt – but GST is built in anyway, as it cannot be recovered by the entity charging. To extend the exemption to anything else would be totally impractical. Trust me! Peter’s idea opens up an even wider field of evasion – who is the rightful owner of the card? Absolutely impractical to the max! Stop and think, Peter. If government had their GST tax take reduced, the shortfall would be taken up somewhere else. As to things like rates and fuel/ alcohol/tobacco duties attracting a GST taxon tax – I have some sympathy, BUT the essence of this is that they are not called a tax. A matter of semantics. Refer to my preceding sentence. His complaint that it is now 15% - again refer back. However, one thing which needs stressing is that it is a tax which impacts more on the lower income strata. So here there is an argument that income tax should be the basis for raising government’s additional funding requirements – that being a progressive tax which hits the higher income folk to a greater degree. Take that one up with your MP. Can we now drop this line of thinking, please? Peter Patten Albany Grey Power Electricity At our recent Zone Meeting strong exception was taken to a front page article in the September magazine concerning the anniversary of Grey Power Electricity which contained inaccurate information. Mr Bob Thompson was not involved in the negotiations between Grey Power and Pulse Energy. In 2013 Allen Davies initiated discussion with electricity retailer Pulse Energy and at his invitation was then supported by vice president Terry King and Zone 2 director Bill Rayner a chartered accountant. Allen Davies had undertaken most of the preparatory work leading up to a formal agreement. Because Terry King had been involved with Bob Thompson and Mac Welch in unsuccessful discussions with electricity retailer “Tiny Mighty River” he recommended to Allen Davies that Mac Welch with hands on commercial experience could be of assistance with the Pulse energy discussions. As team leader Allen agreed. Although reluctant, Mr Welch joined the team. During the discussions with Pulse Energy Terry King made two stipulations which he said were non-negotiable. The first was naming rights where he wanted the deal to be known as “Grey Power Electricity”. Pulse raised no objection to this suggestion. The second stipulation was there be ‘transparency of charges on final invoices’. This related to the successful Grey Power negotiations in 2003 with Minister of Energy Pete Hodgson wherein he agreed that domestic consumer contracts should have transparency of charge components and this became part of the official Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Electricity Governance released in September 2003. Allen Davies fully supported this. The inference that the Pulse Energy CEO suggested that Mr Welsh was a key instigator is also not correct, as Mr Gary Holden clearly stated at the Federation AGM in May that Mr Allen Davies was the key instigator in the negotiations leading to the establishment of Grey Power Electricity. Les Glassey Zone 7 Director Mataura Socialists make my blood boil For the first time since joining Grey Power I had a good read of the quarterly magazine. I had assumed Grey Power would be run by a sensible group of people with good life experience and some smarts. It only took a short read of el presidente O’Connor’s report to realise that this just another organisation controlled by a silly socialist. Following that was an article effectively saying that air pollution shouldn’t have to be worried about by pensioners because they are pensioners. It got worse when a letter to the editor informed me that he couldn’t recommend the National party as our next government. This has certainly made me think about my ongoing membership of Grey Power. Pensioners are the wealthiest demographic in our society because they have had a lifetime to accumulate some assets and they have access to one of the best super schemes in the world. That super scheme has gone up markedly because we have had a National government for nine years who understand business and the economy. Superannuation is based on (I believe) 66 percent of the median wage and as wages have grown steadily the increase has meant that a married couple now gets $360 per fortnight more than they did before National came to power ($210 for a single person). That is what should be important to Grey Power members and we all know it wouldn’t have happened under a Labour government. Then we can add low inflation that doesn’t eat into our savings, low mortgage rates for those of us still with a mortgage or our kids, cheaper ACC rates for the car registration, 28 percent more doctors and nurses and an extra $5 billion for health care, 11,500 more jobs every month, the first increase in benefit rates for more than 40 years, and the list goes on and on. The next report shouldn’t read “what will they do for us” as we are already the most advantaged section of society. Bloody socialists just raise my blood pressure. Anyone with half a brain understands that super as we know it is just not sustainable so Greypower needs to start working with the government to look at mitigating the effects of raising the age of entitlement on certain sectors. Just saying “no” is not an option. John Beattie. Levin It’s a bit silly to call people he does not agree with a Socialist and I don’t control Grey Power. That is the exclusive role of the membership. It was the clear opinion of the 2017 Annual General Meeting of Grey Power members that the age of entitlement for National Superannuation should remain at 65. The former Prime Minister announced an intention lift that age to 67 contrary to our requests. In all conscience I could not advise members to vote for a party which made such decisions and I made that very clear. It is part of my role as president to give that advice to members. It is no accident that the only two political parties who were determined to lift the age to 67 are now no longer in Government. Tom O’Connor President INVESTMENT RETURNING: 6.5% to 9.5% Zero Fees It’s a sad argument Your correspondent is arguing that there is little to prevent the next government from making an increase in super rates for seniors. It appears he sadly has not had macro economics education, as if he had, he would know that any borrowings private Continued on page 24 Why give half your profits to the banks? To go on our mailing list and to register, email to: j.c.l@clear.net.nz or phone John 022 411 0020 ALL COMPLY WITH FMC ACT. DONOT SEND MONEY. NO INDICATION OF INTEREST WILL INVOLVE AN OBLIGATION OR ACOMMITMENT TO ACQUIRE THE FINANCIAL PRODUCTS. AKiwi family business and supporters of mindful mental health trust WE HAVE ANUMBER OF OFFERS COMING UP ALL 1ST RANKING MORTGAGE & GUARANTEED PAID MONTHLY MINIMUM PARCEL SIZE $10,000 NZ OWNED SINCE 1984
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Grey Power November 2017

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