On the day when Catholics throughout New Zealand were praying for refugees and migrants Winston Peters suggested that New Zealand’s superannuation fund could be conserved by making elderly migrants ineligible. He told the the New Zealand First Conference in Palmerston North on the weekend that migrants were taking advantage of the universal pension scheme. Singling out “a Read more
A report on FijiLive puts the damage bill from the Fiji Floods flooding as approaching $FJD51 Million ($US30 million). A bulletin from OCHA ( UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) puts the cost of the Fiji floods even higher at more than $FJD71 million ($US40 million) in key economic sectors, providing the following breakdown Roads 17,951,438 Read more
The Compassion Sisters’ Aubert Home in Whanganui is to be closed because it is an earthquake risk. An engineers’ report has found that more than 67 per cent of the buildings are below the minimum earthquake standard required by law and could be dangerous in a moderate earthquake. The residents, their families and staff have been told of the Read more
The number of elderly New Zealanders killing themselves has surged 11% to a 10-year high, fuelled by mounting health and economic worries. The spate of deaths has pushed the country’s overall suicide numbers to 558, the highest since 1997. The issue has reopened the debate on euthanasia. A spokeswoman for the New Zealand Voluntary Euthanasia organisation Read more
There are 580,000 older people living in New Zealand and more than 40,000 suffer from social isolation. “Many of those people are living alone, and they have lost connection with their families…. they haven’t made the networks that possibly they could make, and possibly should make.” Age Concern chief executive Ann Martin says Age Concern met with Read more