Submissions

Age Concern New Zealand has strong interest in this Bill as it seeks to outline the purpose and operation of Disability Support Services into the future.

As an an organisation that promotes the value, dignity, and rights of older New Zealanders we are concered about the potential impact for people with disabilities and older carers. 

Age Concern New Zealand He Manaakitanga Kaumātua Aotearoa welcomes the opportunity to submit comments on the Residential Tenancies (Regulation of Boarding House Landlords) Amendment Bill.

ACNZ strongly supports the establishment of a register of boarding houses and boarding house landlords. Boarding house tenants include some of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most vulnerable. However, the current low level of monitoring, registration, and regulation has resulted in unsafe, unhealthy, and dangerous housing some instances. 

Age Concern New Zealand He Manaakitanga Kaumātua Aotearoa welcomes the opportunity to provide feedback on the Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Improving Alcohol Regulation) Amendment Bill. 

ACNZ does not support proposed changes to limit the persons who can object to a licence application through the process outlined in the Amendment Bill. Communities have the right to limit the number of liquor licenses in their neighbourhoods and their ability to influence policy should be protected.

Age Concern New Zealand He Manaakitanga Kaumātua Aotearoa welcomes the opportunity to provide feedback on Possible brand changes through the annual tender.

Our feedback is specifically from the perspective of our mahi with older New Zealanders. Our expertise is not about the medications themselves but how to effectively engage with older New Zealanders and things to consider if changes are implemented. 

Age Concern New Zealand He Manaakitanga Kaumātua Aotearoa welcomes the opportunity to submit comments on the questions raised about violence against older women by the Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls.

In New Zealand elder abuse intervention services are delivered by community-based agencies within each locality through a funding contract with the Ministry of Social Development. These services offer support and education to older people, their families and those working with older people.

Our comments are based on all our years of involvement with elder abuse service provision and our data collection and insights over these years about the older people we work alongside who experience abuse.

Age Concern New Zealand welcomes the opportunity to submit comments on the Total Mobility Scheme: Proposals to strengthen the scheme. 

Older New Zealanders have a disability rate of 35%, which reflects the trend for disability to increase with age. The high rate of disability amongst older people means the Total Mobility Scheme is a much valued and essential system to support those aged 65+ to live well in their neighbourhoods and communities. It enables them to access the goods and services they need to stay connected with friends and whānau. 

The outcome of this consultation is therefore very important to us as we work to ensure older people are valued, respected, have choices and can live with dignity.

Age Concern New Zealand welcomes the opportunity to submit comments on the Draft Carers’ Strategy Action Plan.

Age Concern New Zealand is a member of the New Zealand Carers Alliance and supports the collaborative approach taken across this partnership of 61 not-for-profit organisations with a specific interest in the needs, wellbeing and contribution of carers across Aotearoa. As a member of the Carers Alliance, we support their submission. 

We make comment in our submission specifically from the perspective of our mahi with older New Zealanders. 

Age Concern New Zealand welcomes the opportunity to submit comments on the Emergency Management Bill (No 2).

Age Concern New Zealand supports updating the legislation to guide our preparation, response and recovery from emergency events. Aotearoa has been experiencing severe weather events which are extremely challenging for people living in affected communities, as well as for all the organisations responsible for responding to those events. 

One of Age Concern New Zealand’s recommendations is to identify older people as one of the populations groups that is likely to be disproportionately affected by emergency events.

Age Concern New Zealand welcomes the opportunity to submit comments on the Draft Long-term Insights Briefing: Meeting the future needs of older New Zealanders.

 This Briefing is very relevant to Age Concern New Zealand and our mahi with older people. 

Age Concern New Zealand supports the approach and foci of the Long-term Insights Briefing. The document is detailed and provides an extensive summary of the trends, opportunities and challenges facing older New Zealanders and those who work with them. We support the four parts or topics in the briefing 1. Older people in New Zealand, 2. Poverty, hardship and disadvantage, 3. Trends in key drivers of disadvantage, and 4. Preventing and responding to hardship and disadvantage.

Age Concern New Zealand welcomes the opportunity to submit comments on the Healthy Futures (Pae Ora) Amendment Bill.

This Bill is relevant to all New Zealanders and to Age Concern New Zealand in its work with older people. As such, we want an age-friendly health system that takes into consideration the rights and needs of people across their life span. We are please that the Government wants to improve the effectiveness of health service delivery to patients. Dignity, wellbeing, equity, and respect for older people are the values that underpin the work carried out by Age Concern New Zealand.

Based on our values and our commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, we do not support the Healthy Futures (Pae Ora) Amendment Bill. We recommend action and funding is instead invested in delivering the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act 2022. If this Amendment Bill is passed health outcomes for Māori, Pasifika, migrants, rainbow and Takatāpui communities, disabled people and those who live rurally will remain poorer than for European and other New Zealanders. 

Age Concern New Zealand welcomes the opportunity to submit comments on the Online Casino Gambling Bill. 

This bill is relevant to all New Zealanders as well as Age Concern New Zealand and many other charities providing essential services within local communities throughout Aotearoa New Zealand.

Gambling harm affects many New Zealanders. Older people within New Zealand Aotearoa may experience gambling harm either directly through their own gambling habit or that of their spouse, adult children or grandchildren. Age Concern elder abuse social workers encounter the harm experienced by older people which can be through family members pressing them for money to support their gambling addiction or to pay off gambling debt. This can include the family member using the older person’s credit or eftpos card for their gambling against the older person’s wishes. We also hear of family members moving in with their ageing parent or grandparent, contributing very little toward household costs, in order to fund their own gambling addiction. 

We are submitting on the Online Casino Gambling Bill primarily because of the increased harm that will result for individuals, whānau and communities. We are also concerned that there is currently no requirement in the Bill for licensed online casinos to provide community grants from their profits. 

We are also concerned about money from New Zealanders going offshore to the benefit and profit of offshore online gambling providers.

Age Concern New Zealand welcomes the opportunity to submit comments on the Regulatory Standards Bill. 

This Bill is relevant to all New Zealanders as well as Age Concern New Zealand and many other charities providing essential services to New Zealanders within local communities throughout Aotearoa. 

We acknowledge there is much commentary in the public arena about the Bill. We note that similar legislation has been tabled over the past twenty-five years and has been rejected three times. At a general level we are concerned that some of the terms in the Bill pose too high a risk of interpretation.

Our view is that there are existing mechanisms to ensure that legislation is high quality, transparent, developed with consultation, and with options and cost-benefit analysis conducted. We consider that Parliament and the wider public should have responsibility for determining whether legislation is good or high quality rather than a Regulatory Standards Board.