REVEALED: $160,000 in Corporate Welfare Upgrades for Private Retirement Villages

The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union can reveal through an Official Information Act requestthat $161,985.55 of taxpayer funding has been used to subsidise insulation upgrades in Summerset's privately-run Wanganui and Havelock North retirement villages.

The funding was provided through the Warmer Kiwi Homes programme, with payments made to contractors installing insulation in licence-to-occupy units within retirement villages.

Taxpayers’ Union Investigations Coordinator, Rhys Hurley, said:

“On paper this funding is designed to help vulnerable households, but in practice it sees taxpayer money flowing into private retirement village developers.”

“This is corporate welfare by another name. Residents may receive the benefit, but the long-term gains sit with a large private operator.”

“The end result is public money being used to improve assets owned by a company that reported $259.7 million in profit after tax last year, while retirees who genuinely need the support miss out on $160,000 of funding.”

“Our elderly deserve support in retirement, but a $9.2 billion company should be able to fund upgrades to its own units, especially when residents themselves don’t share in the upside.”