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Labour MP Ingrid Leary visited the Hibiscus Coast recently to speak with residents about aging policy and retirement village law reform in her role as Labour’s spokesperson for seniors.
She was invited by Whangaparāoa Labour candidate Estefania Muller Pallarès.
Leary has been active in calling for changes to retirement village legislation and currently has a private member’s bill in the ballot. The bill proposes a three-month repayment timeframe for funds owed to residents who sell their retirement village homes.
Reform of the Act began under the Labour Government but was not completed before the end of its term. Leary disagrees with the proposed one-year repayment timeframe, saying that as it only applies to new contracts, it could create a two-tier system within villages, which is why she continues to advocate for changes to the proposed legislation.
She said Ōrewa stood out because of its visible senior population and the number of services geared towards older residents.
“It feels like this place is made for seniors, it has a lot of retirement villages, and businesses are orientated around seniors’ needs, they are very visible and it feels like a fantastic place to live as you get older.”
However, she said the Coast also reflected wider concerns about healthcare infrastructure experienced by many New Zealanders.
“I think it’s particularly concerning for seniors. We know that access to quick and affordable healthcare is a number one priority for them because of where they are in their life’s journey.”
One of Labour’s recent policy announcements was three free GPs visits a year per person, funded by a targeted Capital Gains tax, Leary says.
“Labour is looking at how we can empower primary healthcare and free up quicker access in the community for people so they can get the care they need quickly, but also so that we free up the pressure on the bricks and mortar hospitals, which are much more cost intensive, and visits to them mean health conditions have been left to a point when early interventions could have made for a much better health outcome.”
She said pay equity for healthcare workers was also part of that approach, and Labour would resume work on it if reelected.
“All parties agree that we need to keep people at home longer. But you can’t keep people at home longer if you don’t resource the support available for them, like cutting frontline workforce, For example, basic cleaning is no longer available for some people which forces them into much higher levels of care.
“We need to value our seniors and what we are seeing is a cultural narrative that portrays seniors as a problem to overcome rather than coming from a mindset of how do we empower a significant portion of our population to have great lives?”
Leary said Labour advocates a whole-of-life approach to the ageing population.
“Our approach is around the social infrastructure and supporting connections for seniors, so coming at it from a much broader social perspective rather than a medicalised model of health.”
