Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, Finance Minister Nicola Willis to speak post-Budget in Auckland
National previously campaigned on increasing the superannuation age gradually over many years, but the party's policy platform for the 2026 election has not yet been decided.
Willis also confirmed yesterday that government departments and agencies were assessing the potential cost of the decision to phase in increased employer contributions to KiwiSaver. The default rate will reach 4% by 2028.
She told RNZ any cost could be met with new spending in next year's budget, or be covered through cuts.
Her comments came after the Green Party claimed the additional cost of potentially $700 million had not been accounted for in this year's Budget, which Willis deemed 'ludicrous'.
Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick claimed the Government had failed to account for what could be $633m-$714m in additional costs.
'If she's honest with New Zealanders, that means the Government has intentionally hidden more than half a billion dollars extra in public service cuts to come,' Swarbrick said of Willis.
The potential financial burden for the Government is referenced in the Treasury's Budget Economic and Fiscal Update, but it did not come with a cost estimate.
Willis claimed Swarbrick's numbers were 'out of whack' and 'quite ludicrous' but acknowledged Crown agencies were currently assessing the 'potential implications'.
'They'll then provide advice to the Government. If additional funding is required, I expect it would have to take the form of a pre-commitment against next year's budget operating allowance,' Willis said.
However, she later told RNZ it was possible any costs could be satisfied by cuts, while noting it was 'far too soon to say'.
'It may be that we say this needs to be met with additional funding, it may be that we say there's something we can reprioritise elsewhere.'
Willis said she expected all government contractual obligations, including those regarding KiwiSaver, to be met and suspected employer contributions would form part of future pay round negotiations.
She acknowledged the Government had 'limited visibility' of what its KiwiSaver obligations were.
Swarbrick predicted the Government would cut spending from essential public services to make up the extra cost.
'If the Government doesn't front up with the funds between now and April next year when the first set of changes come into force, Christopher Luxon and Nicola Willis will be forcing immediate cuts directly to frontline services in health, education and social services to pay for their fiscal hole.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Otago Daily Times
2 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
PM wants NZ to get behind development, progress
By Giles Dexter of RNZ National leader Christopher Luxon has told the party's annual conference that the country needs to "say yes" more. Addressing about 550 delegates, MPs and supporters at the Air Force Museum of New Zealand in Christchurch, Luxon bemoaned "activists" who opposed housing developments, agriculture, cruise ships and mines. "If we're serious about keeping Kiwis at home, creating jobs and increasing wages for all New Zealanders, we can't afford to keep saying no to every opportunity that comes our way." Opposition parties have heavily criticised the government for its economic policies and laid the blame at its feet for the 30,000 New Zealanders who moved to Australia last year, but Luxon said the opposition would make it worse. "Take a look at Australia," he said. "If they shut down their mining industry or their energy industry tomorrow, as Labour and the Greens want to do here, I guarantee you would see fewer Kiwis moving across the ditch." Luxon's speech came hot on the heels of an announcement from the United States that it would increase tariffs to 15 percent. Still digesting the announcement and what it would mean for New Zealand exporters, Luxon acknowledged "challenging" global conditions. "We can't just batten down the hatches and hope for the best," he said. Luxon's speech made no mention of National's coalition partners, New Zealand First or ACT, or even the word 'coalition' itself, although deputy Nicola Willis acknowledged the "energy" it took to keep Winston Peters and David Seymour under control. Instead, Luxon's speech was heavy on shoutouts to his National ministers and their policies, and also on blaming the previous government for the cost-of-living struggles New Zealanders currently faced. "In the years to come, immediate action on the cost of living isn't enough," he said. "The last government spent billions of dollars in failed handouts, only to watch inflation roar and the economy falter. "We have to keep our eyes on the prize." Echoing his speech at Monday's post-cabinet press conference, Luxon leaned on the economic policies the government had introduced, such as tax changes, FamilyBoost and the removal of the Auckland Fuel Tax. "We're doing what we can," he said. The speech contained an announcement the government would make it easier to get a concession on Department of Conservation land. "That means more certainty for businesses, less bureaucracy and much faster decisions, so the businesses that should be operating can get up and running." There would still be restrictions on some parts of the DOC estate. "Where it does make sense, we need to get to the 'yes' much faster - instead of being bogged down in process and uncertainty," Luxon said. Charges of $20-40 for foreign visitors to high-volume sites like Cathedral Cove, Tongariro Crossing, Milford Sound, and Aoraki Mount Cook were being introduced, but New Zealanders would be exempt from the fees. Party president Sylvia Wood, who was re-elected at the conference, said the party would select candidates for the 2026 election shortly.
Otago Daily Times
2 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
PM wants NZ to stem tide of Kiwis leaving for Oz
By Giles Dexter of RNZ National leader Christopher Luxon has told the party's annual conference that the country needs to "say yes" more. Addressing about 550 delegates, MPs and supporters at the Air Force Museum of New Zealand in Christchurch, Luxon bemoaned "activists" who opposed housing developments, agriculture, cruise ships and mines. "If we're serious about keeping Kiwis at home, creating jobs and increasing wages for all New Zealanders, we can't afford to keep saying no to every opportunity that comes our way." Opposition parties have heavily criticised the government for its economic policies and laid the blame at its feet for the 30,000 New Zealanders who moved to Australia last year, but Luxon said the opposition would make it worse. "Take a look at Australia," he said. "If they shut down their mining industry or their energy industry tomorrow, as Labour and the Greens want to do here, I guarantee you would see fewer Kiwis moving across the ditch." Luxon's speech came hot on the heels of an announcement from the United States that it would increase tariffs to 15 percent. Still digesting the announcement and what it would mean for New Zealand exporters, Luxon acknowledged "challenging" global conditions. "We can't just batten down the hatches and hope for the best," he said. Luxon's speech made no mention of National's coalition partners, New Zealand First or ACT, or even the word 'coalition' itself, although deputy Nicola Willis acknowledged the "energy" it took to keep Winston Peters and David Seymour under control. Instead, Luxon's speech was heavy on shoutouts to his National ministers and their policies, and also on blaming the previous government for the cost-of-living struggles New Zealanders currently faced. "In the years to come, immediate action on the cost of living isn't enough," he said. "The last government spent billions of dollars in failed handouts, only to watch inflation roar and the economy falter. "We have to keep our eyes on the prize." Echoing his speech at Monday's post-cabinet press conference, Luxon leaned on the economic policies the government had introduced, such as tax changes, FamilyBoost and the removal of the Auckland Fuel Tax. "We're doing what we can," he said. The speech contained an announcement the government would make it easier to get a concession on Department of Conservation land. "That means more certainty for businesses, less bureaucracy and much faster decisions, so the businesses that should be operating can get up and running." There would still be restrictions on some parts of the DOC estate. "Where it does make sense, we need to get to the 'yes' much faster - instead of being bogged down in process and uncertainty," Luxon said. Charges of $20-40 for foreign visitors to high-volume sites like Cathedral Cove, Tongariro Crossing, Milford Sound, and Aoraki Mount Cook were being introduced, but New Zealanders would be exempt from the fees. Party president Sylvia Wood, who was re-elected at the conference, said the party would select candidates for the 2026 election shortly.
Scoop
3 hours ago
- Scoop
'System Just Sucks': Political Scientist Says Māori Being Deterred From Voting
Pokere Paewai, Māori issues reporter A Māori political scientist says reports people have been removed from the electoral roll or shifted off the Māori roll could discourage some Māori from voting. Political scientist at Victoria University Lara Greaves was blunt in her assessment of New Zealand's voting system, calling it difficult to navigate, particularly when it comes to updating or changing enrolment details. "This system just sucks," she said. Past surveys have shown that a significant minority of people don't have a good understanding of the electoral system at all, she said. "So I think this whole system is set up in a way that is quite confusing, quite hōhā and quite bureaucratic and a bit annoying overall." Over the last several days social media has been awash with people checking their voter details only to find they are no longer enrolled or that they cannot find their enrolment details. Lloyd is a voter on the general roll, he checked his enrolment status on Thursday was unable to find his details and had to reenrol. He told RNZ it was like there was no record of him at all. "It just seemed very inflexible considering you want everyone to vote ... I hope they get on [and] start advertising and telling people 'please just go and check and you may have to do this from scratch and we're sorry' or something." Lloyd said he has been voting for about 30 years and last checked his voting details prior to the last election in 2023. Adding extra steps to the enrolment process just makes it that much harder, he said. "I just think they should fix the system so it's a little bit smarter and easier." Lloyd's kōrero follows that of Taryn Utiger, who told RNZ she had been put on the dormant roll despite updating her enrolment details three weeks prior. "They were like, yup ka pai you're on the Māori electorate roll, everything's good to go you will be able to vote in the local body elections and the referendum. I was like cool, thought that was the end of it, everything confirmed. Then I logged in last night and nothing." Greaves said there are realistic barriers between Māori enrolling to vote, including a lack of knowledge among poll workers about the Māori roll and a legacy of colonisation that has discouraged Māori from participating in the electoral system. "We know that there are barriers out there, and the barriers and perception of barriers do cause lower trust, lower trust in democracy. We go back decades and we can see that there have been a lot of barriers for Māori voters," she said. "All of this is contributing to a culture where people think 'hey why would I even bother voting they don't want my vote.'" Greaves said as the facilitator of New Zealand's democracy the Electoral Commission needs to be sufficiently staffed, especially in its IT department. "Could we just invest in an IT system, could we invest in a computer system, could we invest in more people on the ground and get better results. Democracy does need money, it does need investment, it does need personnel to run it and that doesn't seem to be the case at the moment." When a system has inequities those inequities tend to affect Māori, Pacific people and migrant communities more, she said. The Electoral Commission have said there were no technical issues with their online system. Its deputy chief executive of operation Anusha Guler said it was likely some people had been moved to the "dormant roll" because they had not got in contact with the commission for sometime. According to the Electoral Commission 2023 General Election Report, the dormant roll contains voters who have been removed from the main roll for their electorate because they no longer live at an address and have not updated their enrolment details. At the election, there were 96,406 people on the dormant roll and of those, 86 percent were on the general dormant roll while 14 percent were on the Māori dormant roll. Between 31 July and the 2023 election day, just under 78,000 people moved from dormant rolls to the main roll. Speaking to media yesterday, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said he was also concerned but the Electoral Commission had said there was no issue and if people were experiencing them, they should contact the commission directly.
