I am appalled and annoyed at the treatment, lack of respect and dignity towards our Pa metua who are applying for their NZ pension especially those living in the Pa Enua.

I am astounded at the lack of professionalism being applied from the MFEM representative in Aitutaki and officials from the Immigration ministry in Rarotonga who treat these people as if they are foreigners or second rate citizens in their own country by making matters difficult with respect to a request for Travel Declaration information from Immigration which is part of the overall application process as agreed to between the NZ and Cook Islands Government for NZ pension eligibility.

The response from  these officials; lengthy delays with responses; given the run around from one person to another, applications lost or mishandled; having to make appointments as you cannot just go into the office (because they are too busy!!!) just to pay the $25 documentation fee to go with your application and as of late, having to go to Rarotonga to pay the $25 fee as the application form must be certified by an Immigration or MFEM official for proof of ID and the fee has been paid before they can process it. Never mind where these people are expected to get the money from to pay their airfares there and back with no guarantee they will get a NZ pension.

The bottom line is because the MFEM rep has refused to accept any fee payment or sign proof of ID this creates further delays and now there is no one to assist unless you go to Raro. Internal Affairs say it’s not their responsibility.

Sadly, I tried to follow through with Immigration numerous times via phone as to the status of these applications which were submitted in January via Express Mail to Immigration only to be advised they have no knowledge of the applications submitted and I should resubmit new applications. Goodness gracious!

A quick phone call to Air Raro cargo confirmed according to their records, the envelope was received on the 8 January 2024 and uplifted by an employee from the Immigration office that same day.

These applications were prepared in November 2023, submitted in January due to the Xmas period and we are still waiting (as has been the case with numerous applications, anywhere between 4 to 10 months before we get a response.) For a government Ministry that relies on being part of a Public Service that provides quality service. You could have fooled me!

I live and work amongst a lot of these people of whom I have great respect for, they are honest, law-abiding citizens who partake in many community activities and contribute to our economy through the purchase of goods and services from their hard-earned pensions which they are entitled to from NZ. They deserve better treatment than what they are receiving today especially after recently promoting this year as “The Year for Our Elderly”.

It’s time for change and to get rid of the rot that is influencing our governance and political systems from top to bottom.

George Turia

Aitutaki