A/HRC/45/14/Add.2 38. Every older person in New Zealand who applies for Superannuation automatically receives a SuperGold Card by mail. This is a discount and concession card which provides older persons with discounts and offers from over 6,500 businesses and the services of many local councils, including free public transport on local bus, train and ferry services, at least during off-peak hours. 39. There are other policies funded by the Government, local bodies and private not-forprofit organizations that provide welfare benefits and support services to vulnerable or atrisk older persons. These benefits relate to health, housing, transport and connectivity, after a needs assessment, which includes an assessment of the older person’s income, self-care ability and the social support mechanisms available to the older person. 40. Buses are not fully accessible, and walking home from the bus can be difficult. There are also areas where footpaths are not wide enough for mobility scooters. Inadequate broadband and Internet services in rural areas create major barriers to access to information and services for older persons.32 41. The provision of adequate housing remains a challenge, especially in terms of affordability and habitability. Vulnerable groups such as Māori and Pasifika are overrepresented in rental and crowded housing. This overrepresentation correlates closely with low income, poor health and lower education levels. Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities is responsible for providing public housing for people in need. During the 2020/21 financial year, Kāinga Ora is forecast to invest NZ$ 2.9 billion in rental property additions and upgrades and management of its infrastructure assets, and a further NZ$ 422 million in repairs and maintenance of the existing housing portfolio.33 42. In the social housing sector, along with local city councils and community housing providers, Kāinga Ora provides social housing to older persons through modifications of public housing homes that are made to accommodate accessibility and mobility issues. Most older tenants live in private rental housing. Rental housing is older and thermal insulation is ineffective, tenure can be insecure, and older renters often rely on the Accommodation Supplement, which is insufficient, while demand is further increasing. In 2017, the Government enacted legislation that requires higher standards for insulation, heating and ventilation for private and public rental housing. 43. It is projected that older persons will mostly live in rental housing in the future, unless there is a substantial policy change. The proportion of older owner-occupiers fell rapidly between 2001 and 2013, and will fall further given the reduced rate of homeownership now found among people in their early forties. 34 44. Around 5 per cent of the older population has moved to retirement villages. The number of retirement villages has grown significantly since 2017 across the country to over 31,500 retirement village units.35 Village sizes vary greatly across the regions, including as a result of the different business models in the sector, with the average size in Auckland, for instance, at 118 units at the higher end and 41 units per village in Southland at the other. 45. In 2003, the Retirement Villages Act was introduced in an effort to protect residents in this rapidly expanding market. Along with regulations, and Code of Practice set the framework for relationships between residents, intending residents and operators. The Code sets national minimum standards that all retirement village operators have to meet. Provisions are broadly formulated allowing for varying interpretation and standards. Some retirement village residents have contracts stating that they can only access in-house personal care, which they then must pay for, even though they may have been eligible for State-funded home support services.36 32 33 34 35 36 CEDAW/C/NZL/CO/8, para. 41. According to the Government, this financial forecast was developed prior to the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in New Zealand, the impact of which on the financial capital forecasts is currently being assessed. See http://superseniors.msd.govt.nz/about-superseniors/ageing-population/housing/housing.html. See www.jll.nz/content/dam/jll-com/documents/pdf/research/retirement-village-white-paper-2019web-final.pdf. See www.ageconcern.org.nz/ACNZ_Public/Retirement_Villages.aspx. 9