Dear John,

The Papakura Christmas Parade was blessed with a lovely fine afternoon last Sunday. In contrast to 2021, the people, the bands, the floats, the teams and the organisations with boats and trucks like Fire, Crime Watch and Coastguards were back on the Great South Road and along Broadway in Papakura. I had the great pleasure of giving prizes to the winning floats in a number of categories and I would like to thank all the teams and organisations that organised these. I know lots of volunteer hours go into the preparations for the Christmas Parade and that is what makes it a special event for many others who come to watch.

Finally we must acknowledge and thank the Rotary Club of Papakura volunteers who give up their time and provide their organisational skills to making this day a very enjoyable one for all of us. Their team swings into action mid-year and they do everything in the background from inviting participants to organising all the safety stuff and the advertising to ensure this event is a big success.

I hope that everyone is having a great start to Christmas in the Papakura Electorate and across New Zealand.

Superannuation

Our National Opposition have had, for many years, a policy that the retirement age should be slowly increased as people live longer, are healthier and often choose to work well after the age of 65.

The policy since 2017 has signalled that the age of retirement will be gradually raised from 65 to 67 starting in 2037. The reasoning is that with people’s life expectancy increasing about 1.3 years every decade, the cost of superannuation in time will become unsustainable for the younger, tax-paying part of the population.

At today’s levels it is expected to increase from around $16 billion this year to $21 billion in 2024.

The National Opposition think a well-signalled increase that doesn’t start for another 15 years is the most responsible way to manage this.

For many people continuing to work is a way to stay connected to the community that they are part of and allows them to continue to make a valuable contribution to society.

By increasing the age of retirement people will save more for when they retire. Having the higher age in place officially means that people will feel it is ok to keep working and that employers and society are ok with it too. This situation also means that valuable skills and experience are not suddenly lost. We all know of people who have retired and then gone back to work because their knowledge and ability are still relevant and needed.

Current Superannuation rates: As you may know the Standard NZ Super Rates (for tax code M) as at 1 April 2022 are for a single person living alone $463 per week ($24,073 annually) and for a married, civil union, defacto couple both partners qualify $712 per week ($37,035 annually). For all the rates of superannuation and other benefits click the link:

https://www.workandincome.govt.nz/products/benefit-rates/benefit-rates-april-2022.html

The current Government is spending way more than it can afford. It is failing to effectively manage the economy. National has a plan to combat inflation that would stop wasteful spending, stop adding new costs and taxes, refocus the Reserve Bank on price stability and let Kiwis keep more of what they earn.

Remembering Janak Patel

I want to acknowledge Mr Janak Patel who was murdered in Sandringham as he worked in the Rose Cottage Superette last month. It is a tragic loss for his family, friends and the local community and I extend my sincere condolences to them all.

I hope that this event is the last and that people will keep themselves safe and heed the warnings of Police to be very cautious in situations like this.

Take care and best wishes,

Judith