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Home / Manawatu Guardian / Opinion

Rates increases hit pensioners hard - Lew Findlay

Manawatu Guardian
8 Sep, 2024 06:00 PM3 mins to read

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Palmerston North city councillor Lew Findlay.

Palmerston North city councillor Lew Findlay.

Opinion

THREE KEY FACTS

  • Palmerston North rates are set to increase by 30% over three years.
  • Rates in many towns are rising faster than wages and superannuation.
  • The Government has introduced legislation it says restores the rights of communities to determine whether to introduce Māori wards for local councils.

Lew Findlay is an elected member of Palmerston North City Council.

OPINION

The Long Term Plan has been finalised and put to bed. The disappointing part for me is the 30% rate increase we face over the next three years.

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This is not just a number, but a significant blow to our community. However, there is hope our sustained efforts over the next two years could potentially mitigate this increase.

Let’s not just remain optimistic, let’s be determined to make a difference.

I work daily with people on low incomes. I am very aware of the problems people on superannuation have making ends meet every week.

With super going up 6.7% this year and rates going up 10.1%, it is only making it harder for low-income people to survive. Everything else is going up 10 to 20% or more.

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How much longer can people on no income other than superannuation meet their outgoings?

I think this is a significant problem. A group of older people are facing a unique kind of trap in their own homes. They cannot sell or downsize them, which is causing them real difficulty.

Many of these individuals would like to move to a smaller, more manageable home, but they are unable to access bridging finance. The banks, it seems to me, are not interested in helping them out.

This is a problem that needs to be addressed, and it’s one Grey Power is actively advocating for.

The ridiculous thing is we seem to have older people trapped in large homes, unable to put them on the market, and we have families searching for large homes who are unable to find them. I think if the banks could arrange bridging finance, this would take some pressure off families looking for larger homes.

I represented the Grey Power Federation at this year’s Older and Disabled People Focus Group Combined Banks meeting in Wellington.

The meeting discussed bridging finance, a significant problem with downsizing. However, no comments were made from the banks (all the central banks were represented at the meeting).

As we approach the next election for local bodies, we are also drawing closer to the Government-enforced referendum on the Māori seats.

This referendum, scheduled to take place in October next year, has the potential to significantly impact our community. We can expect a surge of political discourse in our newspapers, on TV and social media. Unfortunately, this situation could become overwhelming.

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