I have attempted to represent the views of the Federation to all politicians and have made contact with members and leaders of all the parties in the House of Representatives .
Whether we like it or not the only people that can change the current situation of the elderly are the politicians and while they are advised by a large team of bureaucrats and other advisers it is they who in the end will determine our future well being.
Cabinet remains the final decision making body and it would be fair to say that the elderly do not have many friends in that arena.
It has been an interesting year and our main thrusts as always has been health and superannuation . Essentially our message has been that the current level of New Zealand Superannuation is just too low for many elderly to live comfortably.
I would like to quote from one of the many letters that I receive from members with the following words of one of our members --
“ I feel sick when I read of the spending by MPs and their partners and wives on their personal travel typified by the recent headline, MPs partner flies through $22,500. We the elderly struggle away on approximately $10,000 per annum , who do these people think they are ! ”
The writer goes on “ The elderly seem to be humiliated and downgraded just because we are old. We the elderly have skills to offer which no-one wants . We have people skills , family skills trade and technical skills but we are old - can you please make an appeal for improvements on a blanket basis for the elderly . By this I mean a proper adjustment to our annual increment “
I certainly agree with this viewpoint as we all currently face future increases in power charges , petrol prices , dairy foods , rates , meat ( a rarity for some ) and state that we are consistently trying to convince government that the level of superannuation must be raised.
The success of the president is very much dependent on the support provided by the members of the Board and it is a pleasure to report that this has been forthcoming especially by the portfolio holders in superannuation and health areas where we have been most active.
As stated above I have met with most Ministers and also with all the Leaders of the other parties in the House – I will not repeat the basis and outcome of the individual meetings as these have been adequately reported by separate reports circulated to all Associations.
What I will say however is that we have been well received by all those we have met as they recognise that Grey Power may have something to offer them.
I will not follow the previous practice of detailing the activities of each of the Board members , suffice to say that all have contributed to the affairs of the Federation in the way that they have considered appropriate.
The main contribution of the Board members and remember that Zone Directors are Board members by another name, is the discussion that has taken place at either the Board table or via email and fax .
We use the latter means of communication as there are matters that come to the fore in between the board meetings that require action prior to the Board meeting so that the decision making is continuous.
As one can imagine there is a very diverse range of opinion and advice but nevertheless the final majority opinion is accepted and supported by the members.
However I would make special mention of the support that Vi McCowatt provides to all Board members and to all Associations and advise that in my opinion that without her tireless support in assisting at the office we would not be the competent low cost organisation that we are.
Credit must also go to the office staff who do a terrific job in making sure the office runs smoothly -Janice Harding has been with us for some years and more than adequatel handles any queries that are raised - for most of this year Shirley Young was also with us and is now replaced by Daphne who is fitting in nicely.
Two portfolios need special mention as they are fundamental to the organisation. I will be brief about them as there is to be a report from all portfolio holders to follow later in the agenda.
Health has very ably been led by Dennis Paget helped by committee members Les Howard and Dick Stark . We have actually achieved quite an amount during Dennis’s tenure of office. There has been an increase in the age span for mammograms and the subsidy for hearing aids has doubled although it is still totally inadequate.
We have established contact with many senior personnel in the Ministry of Health and other Non Government organisations involved in health of the elderly. Our committee members are participating in a number of Government committees which in essence means that we considered as being sufficiently important to be consulted and included in the decision making process.
The health area has many problems but thankfully through Dennis and his team we are participating in them which is testimony to the esteem in which Dennis and by association Grey Power is held by his peers in the area – we will miss him greatly.
The other major portfolio is superannuation and this portfolio has been ably taken over by Don Robertson.. Superannuation is of course our major consideration as it is the life blood of our members . Apart from an adjustment as pledged in the 1999 election , the current government has done little to address the problems of the low level at which NZS is set.
Information from our members indicates that many are struggling and frankly for someone on NZS with no other income he or she is in difficulties especially if living in rented accommodation.
We continue to press for 6 monthly adjustments and a level of at least 70% of the NettAfterTaxOrdinaryTimeWeeklyWage. Don has done an excellent job in picking up and moving forward a portfolio which is perhaps our most difficult.
In general we need to consider where we are at and how we should go forward and the portfolio reports will give you an update of our activities.
We get very little publicity but the politicians apart from a free fish feed and sackings get little also – the media is just not interested in the plight of the elderly as there is no traction in their problems.
Some members hark back to the glory days when the elderly were the favourites of the media because the media supported any group that was against the then government and we with the surcharge were certainly there.
They ask about a rally at the Auckland Town Hall or a march on Parliament but what would be the cause – the rates increase protest march drew few participants.
We would need a real media backed cause and the plight of the elderly is not that because the elderly have been marginalized by political parties and the media alike.
Nevertheless our concerns are real and pertinent and extend into many areas.
Living costs continue to escalate and may prime cuts of meat are beyond most and a leg of lamb , once the stable Sunday dinner , is merely a far memory . The level of NZS is just not sufficient for most .
Apart from food costs other costs continue to escalate and are unavoidable for all – predictions for electricity are that it will double over the next five years.
At Association meetings that I have attended around the country the question is often asked what is Grey Power doing for the elderly. Unfortunately this is not an easy question to answer as we are continuously engaged in dialogue with Ministers, opposition and coalition parties , Ministry officials and like organisations.
We are never sure whether we are successful in our endeavours to influence the politicians but we are sure that our organisation is being consulted more and more by the various political parties.
Neither the current government nor the previous government have been very elderly friendly and in reality over the years since we have been established , granted we have developed relations and contacts as mentioned before, we have achieved nowhere as much as we have hoped.
The National NZ First coalition did remove surcharge and the Labour Alliance coalition did restore the lower level of 65% of the band in which the NZS falls but apart from that very little result can be evidenced You will recall that the lower level of the NZS band was reduced to 60% because the elderly were to save the country from the economic Asian Crisis but just how was never explained
The future is in our own hands - we are not an identifiable voting block . The Maori
with their separate roll identify as voting 75% in favour of Labour and hence they are
identifiable and receive recognition as such .
We don’t but we are still the largest
voting block in the country and increasing all the time.
It is therefore opportune to suggest to you that if we are to be as successful as we
would wish , then your own approach may need some examination. You must consider whether
in this climate of MMP where the main bargaining power rests not with the majority party
but with the coalition partner, that we should take advantage of this .
Until we can
influence the nature of the coalition party then we will not be recognised as a voting block.
This means that instead of adhering to years of First Past the Post ideology and religiously voting for one party or the other you must consider which political party offers the best outcome for you and abandon previous party loyalties .
It is not a case of what Grey power can do for you but what you can do for Grey Power. – shades of an American President.
We have decided to become pro-active and have constituted a Strategy committee & Policy
committee to prepare our own manifesto to be supplied to all party’s so that we can
judge how their policies match with ours.
But this strategy will fall on barren ground
unless you as Grey power members do your bit.
Superannuation still our major concern – with all the costs going up an adjustment by CP
is just not sufficient.- the level of the % of the weekly wage must be raised.
We need six monthly adjustments and the level raised to 70% of the average wage
The 50+ situation is also a major concern as all members experience the problem of NQP. The governments intransient attitude to this is disappointing and we firmly consider that as the individual is taxed as a separate unit during working life then on reaching the age of entitlement the family income should not be used.
The three major problems affecting the health of the elderly are
Asset testing. still remains a problem as the current proposal is just a raise of the threshold not complete removal as promised – this doesn’t meet the 1999 election promise to remove and obviously the government considers that commitment to be unimportant despite our many meetings with the Minister concerned.
Electricity is subject to a continual escalation of price by both the state owned SOEs and the private company Contact . The government benefits from the variations in the wholesale market and treats the industry that it controls as a cash cow and offers no hope other than continuing prices rises.
Local bodies have become totally uncontrollable with the continuing escalation of rates including the problem of a uniform general rate .There needs to be a firm cap on rate rises and the e rises restricted to less than the CPI. No council seems to head the requirement that the council should consider the ratepayers ability to pay.
GST on rates is accepted by government as a tax on a tax but govt will not forgo the $800m tax involved.
No rise in taxes were a feature on the 1999 pledge card but we currently are paying
an extra 4.7 cents for Auckland roads and 2.78 cents increase for ACC ( 2.3 to 5.08
cents per litre)-
We have the future prospect of a further 5.8 cents a rise and
toll roads plus possibly electronic bookings for using existing roads as was proposed
in Foresight 2001 by the previous government.
Currently prices in Auckland are cheaper than the rest of the country for both petrol
and diesel.
LTSA still maintains an arrogant attitude to the older driver – licence costs penalise the elderly driver with test , licence and medical costs – Human Rights Commission is considering a complaint about older drivers licence regime & the conflict of the LTSA attitude with the latest 2002 OECD report on Transport.
Retirement villages Act is still very much an owner piece of legislation and we will be contributing to the Code of Practice.
Law and Order and Justice –we maintain a policy of being visible & vocal but we never seem to have enough police – is their disillusion from the number of prosecutions that fail the basic reason for perfing.
Basically we will never succeed until we become a voting block similar to the Maori and the Federation intends to give an appraisal of how the various party’s policies meets our aims and objectives and recommend the party that most benefits the elderly BUT in the end it is the individual that puts the cross and you must think not only along party lines but what is best for you, because no-one else does.
At this time it is not what Grey power can do for you but what you can do for Grey Power to make us a recognisable voting block.
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