Grey Power March 2017

4
NZ GREYPOWER MAGAZINE » MARCH 2017
President warns:
Watch response to ill-informed
ageist comments
From page 1
dustries and jobs in New Zealand and we
paid for our own national superannuation
fund,” he said.
Those people looking for someone to
blame for the serious economic ills faced
by some sectors of the community today
should look to the successive governments
who have sold off New Zealand’s heritage
to the highest bidder not the older generation
who created that heritage,” he said.
“Many of those who accuse the older
generation of taking everything and leaving
nothing for those who follow don’t
know what hard work and hardship is and
they seem to know very little about working
for the good of the community. When
we, in Grey Power, negotiate with government
for better access to health care and
the continued viability of national superannuation
we are doing it, not just for
ourselves, but also for those who will follow
us into retirement in the years ahead.
New Zealand was built on volunteers and
we are one of many volunteer groups
working for others in the community.”
Tom said it was also important to be
aware of political developments at home
and abroad which have the potential to
cause us some problems for all New Zealanders,
not just Grey Power members.
“These developments include the election
of Donald trump to the presidency of
the United States, the election of Bill English
as New Zealand’s Prime Minister.
“As was predicted in the long lead up to
the election of Donald Trump the United
States has now officially withdrawn from
the proposed Trans Pacific Partnership
Arrangement. (TPPA). While some in
Grey Power might be elated at that news,
as we were strongly opposed to what little
we knew of the international trade treaty,
it has not gone away,” he said.
These are clear
demonstrations that
quiet, fact-based
negotiations, in concert
with other like-minded
groups bring genuine
results
New Prime Minister Bill English has
signalled that New Zealand and the remaining
signatories to TPPA could proceed
with a revised treaty and Tom said if
that is the case Grey Power suggests that
the big multinational corporations should
be side-lined and that the process should
include a more open dialogue with the
New Zealand public.
“Bill English has also indicated at least
a review of national superannuation but,
so far, few details of his intentions have
been released. This issue alone has the
potential to bring a major impact on our
members and, while our new Prime Minister
should be given every opportunity to
find his way into the job, we can’t afford
to relax.”
Tom said, in the lead up to this years
general election Grey Power could expect
pressure from all manner of political
groups to support their particular ideas
on many issues. “We have already had a
few last year but there will no doubt be
more in the months ahead. It is absolutely
essential for us to form our own opinions
and policies, not support those of other
groups. We may come up with similar
ideas but they must be ours, decided by
our membership alone.”
He said the Grey Power advocacy team
was well respected by all political parties
for remaining non-aligned and focussed
on the issues which affect older people
more than the rest of the community.
“In the past few months we have
achieved two important successes simply
because we base our negotiations on
careful research and we don’t engage in
party politics. The first was the Government
announcement that access to cannabis
based pharmaceuticals will be made
easier. There has been a long campaign
by several groups and individuals seeking
a relaxation of the law around cannabis
Tom O’Connor
use.’
Tom said it was unfortunately that
the genuine needs of seriously ill people
were clouded by a noisy group seeking the
right to grow their own cannabis for recreational
use and so called self-medication.
“During our last lobby trip to Wellington
we spent some time with Health Minister
Jonathan Coleman and Associate Health
Minister Peter Dunne discussing the issue
in some detail and both promised to
give careful consideration to our request,
particularly making the important difference
between clinically tested cannabis
based pharmaceuticals and home grown
cannabis for self-medication, which we do
not support. We also asked that the use of
genuine medical cannabis should be under
the control of the medical professionals
rather than politicians, which is exactly
what the Government has now done.
“These are clear demonstrations that
quiet, fact based negotiations, in concert
with other like-minded groups bring genuine
results,” said Tom.