SuperGold Card
The SuperGold Card is a discounts and concessions card for senior citizens and veterans in New Zealand.[1] It includes public transport benefits like free off-peak travel (funded by the government) and discounts from businesses and companies across thousands of outlets.[2][3]
It was a major initiative of the political party New Zealand First,[4] which established a research team to design the SuperGold Card.[5] The party leader Winston Peters negotiated the scheme with then-Prime Minister Helen Clark, despite widespread opposition to the card on the grounds of high cost.[6] As a condition of the 2005 confidence and supply agreement[7] between New Zealand First and the Labour Government, Peters launched the SuperGold Card in August 2007.[8]
The card is available to all eligible New Zealanders over the age of 65. The card does not expire.[9] A Veterans' SuperGold Card also exists for those who have served in the New Zealand Defence Force in a recognised war or emergency.[10] The card provides over 600,000[11] New Zealanders with access to a wide range of government and local authority services, business discounts, entitlements and concessions, such as hearing aid subsidies.[12] However, it was argued much of the extra costs were 'book entries'. For example, the Government subsidises much of public transport anyway, where buses and trains travel with empty seats during off-peak hours; SuperGold Card commuters are simply using buses and trains during off-peak times.[13]
SuperGold Card came under threat in 2010[14] when National Minister Steven Joyce tried to terminate free SuperGold transport on some more expensive public transport services, including the Waiheke Island ferry and the Wairarapa Connection train.[15] The Minister retreated when he came under fire from senior citizens.[16]
In October 2019, Peters announced a $7.7 million investment into the SuperGold Card scheme. The "upgrade" includes a new website, a mobile app, and 500 new partner businesses.[17]
References
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