One of our key areas of focus is how older people are valued and supported. Our members, through their work in communities across the motu, have observed that many of the issues faced by older New Zealanders can be traced back to a lack of prioritisation of older persons’ needs. We feel strongly that this is because of systemic ageism that undervalues and deprioritises the needs of older New Zealanders.
NZCCSS recently released a report exploring the context of older people in Aotearoa, Te Kōrero mō ngā Kaumātua. That report concluded that without specific older persons’ policy, and attention within and across the system, the issues we are seeing of insufficient funding, isolation and loneliness, physical and mental health deterioration, digital divide, and lack of visibility for older persons’ needs will persist or grow as this population increases in size.
With this in mind, we wanted to do more than simply review parties’ policies in relation to older people.
So, we also asked questions about their policies and plans for ensuring older New Zealanders are valued and supported now and in the coming years.
Click the parties currently awaiting the Special Votes to confirm a coalition below to jump to their responses.
We have sent questions to NZ First following the preliminary October 14 Election results and are now awaiting their reply.
National Party Kaumātua | Older people Q & A
1: What economic protections and benefit supports will you be extending to older people through your policy?
National will increase superannuation every year.
Out Back Pocket Boost tax policy will mean a retired couple on Super will be better off under National by around $26 a fortnight, while a retiree living on their own will be get $17 more a fortnight.
National will keep the Winter Energy Payment, the SuperGold Card and free prescriptions for superannuitants.
2: What plans are you putting in place for the support and maintenance of the superannuation fund with Aotearoa’s growing over 65 population?
National will keep the age of eligibility for NZ Super at 65 until 2044, when we will begin to gradually increase it to 67. This will ensure NZ Super remains fiscally sustainable as life expectancy increases, while also giving people plenty of time to prepare. This change wouldn’t affect anyone born before 1979.
National will continue to make contributions to the NZ Super Fund.
3: What educational benefits will you be offering to older people, or those who support older people through their profession (nurses, kaiāwhina, mental health professionals, etc)?
National will ensure seniors benefit from a stable and experienced healthcare workforce.
National will train more nurses here in New Zealand, by offering to pay their student loans back if they commit to work in New Zealand for at least five years once they graduate. We will also attract more qualified nurses from overseas with generous relocation assistance.
National will also train 220 more doctors in New Zealand a year by increasing training places at Auckland and Otago medical schools and building a third medical school at Waikato University.
A stronger health workforce will mean better care for seniors.
4: What specific policies do you have to support the health needs of older people?
National is focused on fixing New Zealand’s troubled healthcare system so it works better for everyone, including seniors.
The first priority for healthcare needs to be delivering the workforce we need. National will address the workforce crisis by training more nurses and doctors, and setting clear targets for the health system so we can bring down wait lists for hospitals, deliver more surgeries, and ensure our seniors have access to the quality healthcare they deserve.
5: Do you commit to adding an Older Person’s Health Strategy to Te Pae Ora?
Labour voted against a Supplementary Order Paper that was introduced in the name of our Health Spokesperson, Dr Shane Reti, which aimed to incorporate a Health of Older Persons Strategy into the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Bill. As a result, there is a need to assess the suitability of Pae Ora and the alignment of the strategies.
6: What specific policies do you have to address the housing concerns of older people, and do these extend to Aged Residential Care facilities?
Housing continues to be excessively costly, with high rental expenses and limited options for seniors. National is committed to lowering the barriers that impede the construction of new homes. To this end, we have announced comprehensive policies aimed at unlocking land for development and reducing red tape for developers.
We also continue to support the review of the Retirement Village Legislative Framework. We will support the introduction of common-sense changes to ensure that fairness is maintained.
7: Do you commit to a full assessment of the costs of Aged Residential Care and subsequent restructuring of the funding strategy to ensure that ARC facilities can continue to function?
We recognise the importance of addressing challenges in the aged care sector, and we are dedicated to finding sustainable solutions that prioritise the well-being of our elderly population.
8: Will you commit to providing an infrastructure fund for ARC to ensure that NGOs in this space have access to the capital required to meet necessary compliance standards?
At this point in time, it is not the current policy of the National party.
9: What steps and policies will your party put in place to protect and support the rights of older people in Aotearoa New Zealand?
In addition to our ongoing support of the Retirement Villages Act, National will also advocate for common sense changes to ensure fairness for retirement village residents. This will include the introduction of a simplified complaints process to handle disputes between village residents and operators, among other measures. We look forward to the completion of the review to inform what policy changes will be needed to ensure that the legislation remains fair for all.
10: What specific policies will you put into place to combat Ageism in Aotearoa?
As our population ages, we recognise the pivotal role that our seniors will assume in our society. Age-based discrimination is already prohibited under the Human Rights Act 1993, and although we don’t have additional policies addressing ageism at this time, we remain committed to promoting active senior engagement within our communities and in the workforce.
11: What level of priority is ensuring that Older New Zealanders can live a holistically good life to your party?
The wellbeing of our seniors remains an area of focus for National. Our population is ageing, and our elderly are facing additional challenges to their wellbeing, including the cost of living, access to effective and timely healthcare and affordable housing.
Seniors have been severely impacted by the ongoing cost of living crisis and the erosion of their spending power. We aim to directly address the issues impacting our seniors, particularly by bringing inflation and wasteful government spending under control, keeping the Winter Energy Payment and free prescriptions for superannuitants and by increasing Super each year.
12: Do you commit to the creation and maintenance of an Older Person’s Poverty monitor?
We would be interested in exploring this idea and understanding what it’s role and functions would be, noting that the best thing we can do to reduce poverty for all New Zealanders, including older people, is to end the cost-of-living crisis and rebuild the economy.
13: When will your complete party policy list and manifesto be released? Which date can we expect to see the full list of policies from your party? Where will this list be available?
National will be releasing policies regularly from now until the general election.
All of our policies are available at https://www.national.org.nz/plan
Responses received 11th September, 2023
Act Party Kaumātua | Older people Q & A
1.What economic protections and benefit supports will you be extending to older people through your policy?
2. What plans are you putting in place for the support and maintenance of the superannuation fund with Aotearoa’s growing over 65 population?
Combined response to Questions 1 and 2:
New Zealand is getting older because of lower birth rates and people living longer. Approximately a quarter of population will be over 65 by 2043 and 1.338 million over 65s by 2043 – almost a 60% increase from today. As it is, contributions to the SuperFund are less than the annual increase in NZ Super. To ensure the NZ Super is sustainable in future, ACT will gradually increase the age of eligibility to 67, and then link NZ Super to average expected life expectancy.
3.What educational benefits will you be offering to older people, or those who support older people through their profession (nurses, kaiāwhina, mental health professionals, etc)?
ACT has no policies specific for educational benefits for older people. ACT has policies for increasing the workforce for supporting older people: ACT_Policy_Document_(Easing_the_Health_Workforce_Crisis).pdf (nationbuilder.com)
4.What specific policies do you have to support the health needs of older people?
5.Do you commit to adding an Older Person’s Health Strategy to Te Pae Ora?
Combined response to Questions 4 and 5:
Yes. ACT voted for an older people’s health strategy.
6.What specific policies do you have to address the housing concerns of older people, and do these extend to Aged Residential Care facilities?
7. Do you commit to a full assessment of the costs of Aged Residential Care and subsequent restructuring of the funding strategy to ensure that ARC facilities can continue to function?
8. Will you commit to providing an infrastructure fund for ARC to ensure that NGOs in this space have access to the capital required to meet necessary compliance standards?
9. What steps and policies will your party put in place to protect and support the rights of older people in Aotearoa New Zealand?
10.What specific policies will you put into place to combat Ageism in Aotearoa?
11. What level of priority is ensuring that Older New Zealanders can live a holistically good life to your party?
12.Do you commit to the creation and maintenance of an Older Person’s Poverty monitor?
Combined response to Questions 7,8,9,10,11 & 12:
ACT has no policy specifically for protecting and supporting the rights of older people in New Zealand. The most salient issue for many old people in ensuring their rights are upheld in relation to Retirement Villages is currently before the Commerce Commission, and ACT awaits the findings of that.
When will your complete party policy list and manifesto be released? Which date can we expect to see the full list of policies from your party? Where will this list be available?
All ACT policies can be found at: Policies – ACT New Zealand
Responses received August 24th, 2023