Age Concern’s Greta Bond discusses energy affordability

An advocate for older people says recent cold temperatures combined with the cost of power and other goods have produced a crisis point, with many people forced to choose between food and heating.

Age Concern Canterbury chief executive Greta Bond told Morning Report older people on fixed incomes were having to make real choices every day about whether they will be warm or fed.

"Every week we're encountering people who are really struggling. Renters are in a particularly precarious position because they may be spending 60 or 70 percent of their pension on rent.

"It's actually a real crisis for people. I don't think people really understand or like to think that we have older people who are actively living in poverty in our country," Bond said.

Many people were resorting to spending most of their day in bed with negative consequences.

"They might get up for a little bit in the middle of the day when it's the most warm, probably not at all this week. They might just wake up in the morning, get themselves a cup of tea or something, and then just stay in bed the whole day.

"That's so bad for them in terms of their health, their physical health, their mental health, their social connection, but definitely staying in a really constricted life because they can't go out. And they might not even leave their bedroom."

While the increased costs hit those renting hard, Bond said retired home owners were also vulnerable to price rises for different reasons.

"While you have the security of tenure, you're your own landlord, so you may not have a healthy home in terms of the insulation, and maintenance may be difficult. So that home may be even colder than the rental," she said.

"As a society, we need to think about our older people and what we are prioritising.

"We aren't a country, I think, who would like to think of the fact that we've got old people who are either starving or freezing in their own homes. And, at a government level, I'd like to see more attention to that. But also individually, we can look out for our older neighbours as well," she said.

The Winter Energy Payment was welcome but it was not enough.

Bond added that many people were facing their situation bravely and were not complaining.