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Raced based Super is a terrible idea

Kiwiblog05-05-2025

The Herald reported:
Te Pāti Māori has for some time believed eligibility should be race-based. It explained in statement:
'Te Pāti Māori is clear – our people should be able to access superannuation seven to 10 years earlier than the rest of the population.
'Māori life expectancy is significantly lower, and many of our people work in physically demanding jobs that take a toll well before retirement age.
'It is unacceptable that Māori contribute to the system their whole lives but die before they can benefit from it in the same way as others.
Maori don't die earlier because they are Maori, and that there is something in their genetic code than makes them die early.
They die earlier because of health and socio-economic factors. The focus should be on reducing the prevalence of those factors.
As there is no significant genetic link to dying early, giving NZ Super to anyone who has a fraction of Maori DNA would be a very bad policy. Why should David Seymour get NZ Super at 60 because of his ancestry?

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