Leaders dangle carrots for the grey voters

The politics of the elderly featured heavily on the campaign trail yesterday when Prime Minister Helen Clark and National Party leader Don Brash made announcements in separate visits to Nelson.

Helen Clark said that a previously announced promise of 7500 extra cataract and 10,000 extra joint operations would become the party's sixth election pledge.

Dr Brash announced the first part of his party's policy on elder care - to reimburse the travel mileage of homecare workers in an effort to retain caregivers.

Helen Clark announced the cataract and joint surgery target in May with Health Minister Annette King.

She has repeated it at every Grey Power meeting she has spoken to since, but it has now been elevated to a higher status as one of Labour's seven pledges.

The cost over three years for the extra eye and joint surgery is more than $200 million. 

Labour's first pledge was also aimed mainly at the elderly - to increase the maximum rates rebate from $200 to $500.

Helen Clark said major joint procedures had a huge impact on the health and lives of recipients, by restoring mobility and reducing pain.

Research suggested that half of those aged over 60 suffered from arthritis or a related condition.

Dr Brash said National's policy of reimbursing mileage to aged care workers would cost $19 million a year.

He said such mileage costs were already claimed by district nurses, Plunket nurses, midwives, nurse assistants and hospital aides as well as MPs.

It is thought to be just part of National's elder-care policy; Dr Brash said the party planned to make the provision of quality aged-care services a point of difference at the election.

Associate Health Minister Pete Hodgson said the issue of travel costs was "already in hand".

District health boards were at present using Budget increases to negotiate home-based support service contracts.

"No contracts will be signed unless home care providers have a fair travel policy."

Nurses Organisation spokeswoman Laila Harre said that although the reimbursement was welcomed, it was achieved by using money saved by National's plans to axe subsidies for adults under 65 to visit the doctor.

National health spokesman Paul Hutchison said Labour's pledge was "blatant window dressing" and re-announcing funding that had already been committed.

The Government needed to explain why the additional $3.5 billion put into the health sector in the past six years had not resulted in major increases in operations.

Act health spokeswoman Heather Roy described Labour's pledge as a bribe that was evidence that its health policy had failed New Zealanders.

"Labour is against picking winners.

"The elderly vote, but what about the 8112 New Zealanders, many of them children, who are waiting for ear, nose and throat procedures or the 11,915 who need general surgery such as gall bladder or hernia operations?"