Canning gold card deal a step backwards

“Cough up” is the message the Government is sending to Auckland’s senior citizens as it moves to scrap a four-year free travel deal – on International Day of Older People, Labour says.

The deal between central and local government has given all card holders free evening peak hour travel in the region.

"The Government is reported as having 'sought a review of the evening peak hour concession with a view to its removal, on the grounds that it is nationally inconsistent and unaffordable', said Labour’s Transport spokesperson Phil Twyford.

“If consistency and affordability were important criteria for the Government then their jumbo billion-dollar-a-year motorway building programme would come to a grinding halt.

“It needs to sort out the major problems in its transport policy and drop the idea of nickel and diming Auckland senior citizens,” he said.

Labour’s spokesperson for Senior Citizens, Ruth Dyson, said the benefits of people getting out and about are well documented.

“The biggest challenge older people face is social isolation and yet when we have a smart and effective way of helping people get out to paid work or sports and recreation, central government says it doesn’t want to play its part.

"It costs the Government $1.5m a year to support this service, which is available to a third of New Zealanders, plus any visiting card holders. That’s a small contribution for a huge benefit.

“Stripping pensioners of the Gold Card evening travel concession is a giant step backwards,
and the fact that the news is being delivered in the International Day of Older people makes it worse,” said Ruth Dyson.