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Goodhew - In Focus: Marking International Women’s Day

Hon Jo Goodhew
MP for Rangitata

Marking International Women’s Day

Wednesday 8 March was International Women’s Day; a day to celebrate women. I started the day off at a breakfast at Parliament with keynote speaker Governor General Dame Patsy Reddy and Sandra Coney.

However, despite having the opportunity to celebrate women and their achievements, it is disappointing to learn of the findings of new research which shows bias and perceptions about women in the workplace which is driving the Gender Pay Gap in New Zealand.

The Gender Pay Gap has remained static for a decade now at around 12 per cent. The research shows that the traditional reasons for women lagging behind, including the types of work they carry out, family responsibilities, education and age are not the main reasons. Most of the gap is “unexplained”, which is likely to be perception about behaviour, attitudes, and assumptions about women in work, including bias, both conscious and unconscious.

Next week I travel to New York to represent Minister for Women Hon Paula Bennett at the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) Conference at the United Nations. CSW is the principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women. I will report on progress in our country and am also looking forward to hearing of other countries’ work around achieving gender equality.

Raising the age of Superannuation entitlement

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Flagging changes to the age of entitlement for superannuation many years in advance is the right and responsible thing to do.

The Government policy is to progressively increase the age of eligibility for NZ Super to 67, starting in 20 years’ time. This will more fairly spread the costs and benefits of New Zealand Super between generations, ensure the scheme remains affordable into the future, and give people time to adjust. The age of eligibility for the Veteran’s Pension and the SuperGold Card will also increase.

Even after the change, someone retiring at age 67 in 2040 is likely to receive NZ Super for longer than someone who retires at age 65 today. That is because average life expectancy is increasing by about 1.3 years each decade.

Announcing the change now will also mean that political parties can debate superannuation transparently in the lead-up to this year’s election.

We are committed to the universal nature of New Zealand Super with no means or asset testing. In addition, we remain committed to Super being indexed at 66 per cent of the average weekly wage. KiwiSaver will continue to be available to savers once they turn 65.

This Government has a strong track record of supporting older New Zealanders – since 2008 weekly payments to superannuitants have increased by 35 per cent after tax while inflation has increased by 14 per cent.

Many New Zealanders I come across in the course of my work as an MP are working well beyond 65 because they are fit, healthy and enjoying the opportunities and challenges that remaining in employment brings.

I really enjoy meeting constituents who tell me they choose to work beyond 65 because they enjoy the work and feel valued by those they work with. In my book, that’s a win-win for their savings and the businesses they are in.

The freshwater challenge – 90 per cent of rivers and lakes to be swimmable by 2040

The Government has announced a target of 90 per cent of New Zealand’s lakes and rivers to meet swimmable water quality standards by 2040.

It will make us a world leader in water quality standards, which is important for New Zealand’s growing tourism industry.

I often hear people lamenting the loss of the swimming holes in rivers and lakes they enjoyed in their childhood. We are working to turn this around.

People want to feel confident they can enjoy water-based activities without getting a nasty bug. That is why we are working hard to return our rivers and lakes to a standard not seen in 50 years.

Meeting this target will see an extra 10,000km of swimmable rivers and lakes over the next 23 years, which is 400km a year.

Reaching the 90 per cent target by 2040 will take a collective effort. And the cost is not insignificant. The goal to improve the quality of water is estimated to cost the Government, farmers and councils $2 billion over the next 23 years.

$60 million safety upgrade underway for alternate South Island state highway route

The alternate state highway route between Picton and Christchurch is getting a $60 million upgrade aimed at making the route more resilient while the reconstruction of State Highway 1 continues.

Several sections of the route have been widened and 36 kilometres of the route has been resealed or repaired to help the road cope with the increase in traffic, with a further 22 kilometres to be resealed before winter.

Three new bailey bridges have been built, speeds have been reduced in high risk areas, with a strong Police presence on the route to help manage driver behaviour and speeds.

Traffic numbers on the route have increased by more than four times since the Kaikoura earthquake in November.

On top of the improvements already made to the route, the NZ Transport Agency is now focussing on preparing the Lewis Pass route to safely cope with higher volumes of traffic this winter.

While work is continuing at pace to restore State Highway 1 through Kaikoura between Picton and Christchurch by the end of 2017, it’s important to ensure that people can travel safely on the alternate route through Murchison and the Lewis Pass.

The NZ Transport Agency has also fitted radars to measure traffic volume and speed have been installed along the route. The radars also differentiate between vehicle sizes and can determine how many cars or larger vehicles are travelling at any given time. Webcams along the route have also been installed in the above areas along with Waipara and Blenheim.

VISIT WWW.NZTA.GOVT.NZ FOR MORE INFO ABOUT THE WEBCAMS

Revving your knowhow to avoid buying a lemon

Knowing how to avoid common consumer pitfalls when buying a vehicle has been made simpler, with a new Consumer Protection’s motor vehicle information programme.

The programme helps people thinking about avoiding problems when buying a motor vehicle and, if things do go wrong, to know their consumer rights. This includes tips such as arranging a mechanical car inspection to help uncover any problems – a WOF doesn’t mean it’s mechanically sound for the future.

Advice will also be given about checking if there’s any money owing on the car, because if there is you could be at risk of it being repossessed.

The new online and radio Consumer Protection campaign will initially focus on helping young people looking to purchase a motor vehicle for less than $10,000.

Upcoming events


10 March – constituency work, Timaru
11 March – Mayfield A&P Show
12 – 18 March – representing Minister Paula Bennett in New York
20 March – constituency work, Timaru
21 – 23 March – Parliament sitting
24 March – constituency work Ashburton & host Stuart Smith, Kaikoura MP

Kind regards,

Jo Goodhew
MP for Rangitata


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