Rt Hon Winston Peters
New Zealand First Leader
Member of Parliament for Northland

9 MAY 2016

NZ TAXPAYER LEFT TO LOOK AFTER MIGRANT OLDIES ONCE CHILDREN LEAVE

Reports of elderly Chinese parents being abandoned by their families in New Zealand is again proof changes must be made to the family reunification scheme, says New Zealand First.

“Chinese parents, many of whom can’t speak English, are being left to be cared for by the state, while their children shoot off to live in Australia and other places,” says New Zealand First Leader and Northland Member of Parliament Rt Hon Winston Peters.

“Others are being left to fend for themselves after they are no longer needed by their children to look after grandchildren.

“The result is the New Zealand taxpayer is footing the bills.

“The fact is we’re seen as being a pensioners’ paradise and we’re being exploited.

“Allowing elderly migrants to get full New Zealand Superannuation after 10 years residency as well as access to free health services care and entitlement for rest home care is putting too much stress on the New Zealand economy.

“The government needs to wake up and say if you come into New Zealand under parent reunion, your children must take care of you even if your children shoot through to another country. Afterall, that’s exactly what the Chinese government insists on in a recent edict requiring offspring to look after their parents.

“Also, NZ Super should only be paid at a rate that is in proportion to the number of years a resident is in New Zealand and the parent migrant category must be capped.

“It’s completely unfair that migrants who have been in the country for only 10 years, many of whom have never paid tax, get the same as Kiwis who have lived and worked here all their lives,” Mr Peters says.

ENDS

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