|
|
|
The Purpose of this Website
On reaching the age of 65, roughly one in every four New Zealanders discovers that his/her inalienable right to the much-vaunted “Universal Pension” doesn’t exist. Disbelieving pensioners have been rudely – even brutally – treated by WINZ. Untold numbers of distressed elderly people have appealed to their politicians, only to be fobbed off at every turn.
In the face of bureaucratic stone-walling and political indifference, concerned individuals from all walks of life and from all over the country have joined together to share and analyze information to discover why and how – in a seemingly honest, democratic nation devoted to the notion of fair-play – such enormous injustice could exist. The information these people have contributed represents years of research, collecting and exchanging data.
Following the Executive Summary, the web site traces the case history of Ruth. Born and bred in the North Island, Ruth worked and paid her taxes the same as everyone else only to join the ranks of hundreds of other New Zealanders denied the "Universal Pension" because - in the eyes of New Zealand law - she had married the wrong person.
The web site details the impossible task individuals such as Ruth have faced in attempting to obtain justice. It examines the mechanisms put in place to prevent challenges to the government on pension discrimination and shows how every avenue of appeal has been systematically blocked.
A picture emerges of a culture of deception. The subtle distortions characterizing the day-to-day administration of New Zealand's retirement policies point to malfeasance at high levels of government.
The web site summarizes the major content of a confidential government review of NZ Superannuation Portability. Released by accident in early 2005, the review highlights the unfair and discriminatory nature of New Zealand's retirement policies and urges the government to make immediate changes in the national interest. The government has rejected the recommendations.
This website has been established to bring together the thousands of people like Ruth who for years have been individually fighting a lonely battle. We say to all those people whose pension rights have been abused that, in spite of indifferent politicians and a crushing bureaucracy - a seemingly insurmountable opposition - by acting collectively we can overturn an enormous injustice.
|
|
Last modified: February 21, 2007 |
