Tauranga-based Independent MP Brendan Horan has announced a Save Our Seniors campaign, calling for fair incomes for seniors funded through implementation of a Financial Transaction Tax (FTT).
Mr MP, leader of the NZ Independent Coalition, released a statement today saying urgent and immediate action is required.
"Although everyone wants to believe that all New Zealanders are guaranteed security in retirement and that the needs of seniors are well catered for, the reality could not be more different.
"Our seniors are expected to live on as little as $282 a week. The reality is that the Government's own research shows that for a married couple to have reasonable living, $56,000 pa is needed. Currently a married couple are expected to live on less than $33,000 pa.
"What this National Government is doing to our seniors is inhumane. Words cannot convey the deep sense of tragedy when 85-year olds are driven to commit suicide."