Latest news with #Luxon
NZ Herald
21 hours ago
- Business
- NZ Herald
Compulsory KiwiSaver: It's time NZ had a serious debate about it – Fran O'Sullivan
That council was set up by former Labour Prime Minister Dame Jacinda Ardern and chaired in 2019 by current PM Luxon, who was at that stage chief executive of Air New Zealand, before he passed the baton to Whineray on leaving the airline. Whineray says that after presenting KiwiSaver reform ideas to Ardern in late 2019 'she quipped that I was 'in danger of becoming a socialist'.' 'I replied that 'I was more of a caring capitalist' – and that the time had come to evolve KiwiSaver.' Call it KiwiSaver 2.0.' The council had lofty goals. It produced papers on the 'infrastructure crisis', the world of work, immigration and education and more. However, the Covid pandemic resulted in the Ardern Government losing its focus on reform, at least as far as business was concerned. The council's expertise was not harnessed in the way chief executives had expected when they took up Ardern's invitation to join the council. With Luxon now PM, Whineray is having another shot. As he puts it, the 2.5-page proposal was designed to evolve KiwiSaver into something fit for purpose by 2030: a 'serious economic engine and a foundation for personal dignity, resilience, and independence'. In essence, the then council believed there was an opportunity to enhance the KiwiSaver framework to achieve more equitable outcomes via a transition over 10 years to a compulsory savings scheme, with the objective of achieving minimum annual contributions of 10% of personal income by 2030. Six years on and Nicola Willis' second Budget has moved to increase KiwiSaver contributions to 4% of wages or salaries by 2028 by employers and employees – essentially 8% of personal income. It remains an 'opt-in' scheme – it is not compulsory. In Australia, employer contributions, known as the Super Guarantee, are currently 11.5% of an employee's ordinary time earnings. From July 1 this year, that rate will increase to 12%. A massive pool of savings has been built up in Australia since its compulsory superannuation scheme was introduced. Whineray's intervention is timely. Both Luxon and Willis have reopened the discussion on superannuation – particularly on extending the age of eligibility for universal New Zealand Superannuation from 65 to 67 years beginning in 2044. But their coalition partner New Zealand First baulks at that. Whineray contends gaining political support for making KiwiSaver compulsory and increasing the contribution rate should not be too difficult. He points to the fact that NZ First leader Winston Peters pushed for compulsory savings in the 1990s. Former Labour Finance Minister Sir Michael Cullen launched KiwiSaver in 2007 and the New Zealand Super Fund in 2001. Both Luxon and Willis reopened debate in Budget 2025. There is the ability to begin a cross-party dialogue to build wide support for compulsory super. As a parting shot on LinkedIn, Whineray contended that universal NZ Super at 65 won't survive demographic gravity. If people don't save, taxpayers still carry the cost. The freedom to opt out likely becomes a redistribution from those who opt in – 'even if total savings rates don't shift on average, they do shift for the people who don't currently save'. Whineray's is a welcome contribution to the superannuation debate. It's become commonplace to blame the Boomers for the NZ Super iceberg coming taxpayers' way. Superannuation is the largest and fastest-growing welfare expense, increasing from $13 billion in 2017 to a projected $29b in 2029. That is a 25% increase from the projected $23.2b for 2025 in just five years. In reality the first of the Generation X cohort will themselves be coming on to NZ Super in 2030. It is not simply a 'blame the Boomers' issue. It is also reality that Boomers' expectations to have super at what was then the retirement age of 60 were shattered by the Bolger Government, which sensibly raised the age of eligibility to 65 within a decade. Generation X is in a position to lead the debate now to ensure the age of eligibility for NZ Super is lifted again – this time to 67 or beyond. It's getting tiresome to hear and read repeated arguments by media personalities that range from blaming Boomers for not having enough babies (ie future taxpayers to support the scheme), to 'Luxon won't be able to build support to raise the age' and finally and more irksome 'I've paid taxes all by life and hence I want my national super at 65″. There is a role for the media in leading this debate, not simply fostering the thinking that leads to full-on fiscal crisis.
Scoop
2 days ago
- Politics
- Scoop
Deputy PM Handover: Seymour Vows Straight Talk, Peters Fires Up Campaign
David Seymour has vowed to keep speaking freely as he takes over as deputy prime minister, while an unshackled Winston Peters shifts into campaign mode, planning to avoid another handover next term. And both men were quick to demonstrate their fire after Prime Minister Christopher Luxon told RNZ he still regards the number two job as largely ceremonial. The handover of the deputy prime ministership, as agreed during coalition negotiations, marks a new milestone for the government and the half-way point of its term. Seymour will head to the governor-general's official residence in Auckland on 31 May to be sworn in. In separate sit-down interviews with RNZ, the ACT and NZ First leaders remarked on the honour of holding the position, though downplayed the significance of the change. Seymour told RNZ the transition – in most respects – would be 'business as usual', adding, 'I've actually been the acting prime minister several times, and we're all still here, so don't worry.' Peters too was matter-of-fact: 'We signed up to that in 2023 – so we don't have reflections on it. Just stick to your word and keep going.' Ceremonial? 'How would he know?' The position was one of the last points of contention to be resolved during coalition negotiations. At the time, Luxon sought to play down its importance, saying it was 'largely a ceremonial role'. Eighteen months on, Luxon told RNZ he stood by that, noting Peters and Seymour were only ever left in charge for brief stints: 'When I do my trips [overseas], I'm pretty fast – in and out and back home pretty quickly.' To that, Seymour sniped: 'He doesn't think it's ceremonial when he leaves the country and relies on you to act for him. 'A couple of times when I've been acting prime minister… we had the CrowdStrike [IT outage], we had the Chinese ships … you're the person on the spot for those decisions.' Peters also gave Luxon's comments short shrift: 'When he [first] said that, he had no experience himself of the job, so how would he know?' He pointedly noted that the opposition asked him far fewer questions during Parliament's Question Time than they ever did Luxon: 'I kind of think that tells you something… experience matters, big time.' Seymour: 'Won't be losing my freedom to think' Asked whether the new role would temper his at-time-outspoken style, Seymour was defiant. 'I'm astonished you believe that my tone would need moderation or my remarks would need constraint,' Seymour told RNZ. 'I certainly won't be losing my freedom to think and to speak and to express what people in our communities are thinking.' Seymour denied ever criticising his coalition partners, saying he had only ever responded to criticism: 'Hopefully that won't be necessary again in this term of government.' He stressed he intended to discharge his new responsibilities 'very well' to demonstrate the ACT Party was 'a serious player'. 'My responsibility is going to be regulation, education, finance and health, just like the day before,' Seymour said. 'My job will be to show New Zealanders that ACT is politically competent and can deliver and execute in government. This is another chapter of that – becoming DPM.' Seymour said he'd not sought – nor received – advice from his predecessor, saying Peters had taught by demonstration. 'Some of those lessons, I'll take. Others I might leave with him.' Peters eyes 2026 as he passes the baton The NZ First leader said his role as deputy prime minister had been to 'offer experience… in a environment where a lot of ministers were new'. Peters said the privilege of the position also came with 'serious constraints' including a heavier workload and limits around expression. 'Speaking your mind is marvellous – but we're not in a free-think society here. We're in a coalition, and one should always remember it.' With his duties reduced, Peters said he would now have more time to focus on NZ First's election campaign, with a series of roadshows – 'not eating sausage rolls' – planned around the country. 'We took the first turn [as DPM], not the second one,' he said. 'It works out like a charm.' Peters also planned to ease back his relentless travel schedule as foreign minister, as previously signalled. He will be overseas at the time of the handover, visiting Sri Lanka, Nepal, and India. By his return, he will have visited 44 individual countries in the past 18 months. 'We've slogged it out trying to make up for the massive deficit that we inherited… it was pretty exhausting, and in that sense, it is going to be less now.' As for what his election campaign would look like, Peters said he had learned the 'bitter lessons' of 2020 and would bypass the mainstream media to speak directly to hundreds of thousands of 'forgotten New Zealanders' over the next 18 months. 'This time, we're getting the firepower, the army ready,' he said. 'We are better prepared than we've ever been in this party's political career.' And Peters made clear he would seek to avoid another handover of the deputy prime ministership next term. 'If we'd have been given a fair go in the 2023 election, there'd be no need for a handover,' Peters said. 'It's our intention to remove any doubt next election.' Early election? Full term, the plan The exact date of the next election remains unset, though Labour has stirred mischief by raising the spectre of an early vote. Peters said he was 'not really' preparing for that possibility: 'You can never forecast any of those things, but our plan is the full term and stable government.' Seymour also dismissed the idea his time as deputy prime minister could be cut short. 'It's in absolutely nobody's interest – except perhaps the complete Looney Tunes in the Greens and Te Pāti Māori and their enablers in Labour. 'There's only about 60 odd people in New Zealand – and they are odd people – who would benefit from an early election.' Even Labour leader Chris Hipkins told RNZ he thought it unlikely: 'Turkeys don't vote for an early Christmas.'
Scoop
2 days ago
- Politics
- Scoop
Deputy PM Handover: Seymour Vows Straight Talk, Peters Fires Up Campaign
David Seymour has vowed to keep speaking freely as he takes over as deputy prime minister, while an unshackled Winston Peters shifts into campaign mode, planning to avoid another handover next term. And both men were quick to demonstrate their fire after Prime Minister Christopher Luxon told RNZ he still regards the number two job as largely ceremonial. The handover of the deputy prime ministership, as agreed during coalition negotiations, marks a new milestone for the government and the half-way point of its term. Seymour will head to the governor-general's official residence in Auckland on 31 May to be sworn in. In separate sit-down interviews with RNZ, the ACT and NZ First leaders remarked on the honour of holding the position, though downplayed the significance of the change. Seymour told RNZ the transition - in most respects - would be "business as usual", adding, "I've actually been the acting prime minister several times, and we're all still here, so don't worry." Peters too was matter-of-fact: "We signed up to that in 2023 - so we don't have reflections on it. Just stick to your word and keep going." Ceremonial? 'How would he know?' The position was one of the last points of contention to be resolved during coalition negotiations. At the time, Luxon sought to play down its importance, saying it was "largely a ceremonial role". Eighteen months on, Luxon told RNZ he stood by that, noting Peters and Seymour were only ever left in charge for brief stints: "When I do my trips [overseas], I'm pretty fast - in and out and back home pretty quickly." To that, Seymour sniped: "He doesn't think it's ceremonial when he leaves the country and relies on you to act for him. "A couple of times when I've been acting prime minister... we had the CrowdStrike [IT outage], we had the Chinese ships... you're the person on the spot for those decisions." Peters also gave Luxon's comments short shrift: "When he [first] said that, he had no experience himself of the job, so how would he know?" He pointedly noted that the opposition asked him far fewer questions during Parliament's Question Time than they ever did Luxon: "I kind of think that tells you something... experience matters, big time." Seymour: 'Won't be losing my freedom to think' Asked whether the new role would temper his at-time-outspoken style, Seymour was defiant. "I'm astonished you believe that my tone would need moderation or my remarks would need constraint," Seymour told RNZ. "I certainly won't be losing my freedom to think and to speak and to express what people in our communities are thinking." Seymour denied ever criticising his coalition partners, saying he had only ever responded to criticism: "Hopefully that won't be necessary again in this term of government." He stressed he intended to discharge his new responsibilities "very well" to demonstrate the ACT Party was "a serious player". "My responsibility is going to be regulation, education, finance and health, just like the day before," Seymour said. "My job will be to show New Zealanders that ACT is politically competent and can deliver and execute in government. This is another chapter of that - becoming DPM." Seymour said he'd not sought - nor received - advice from his predecessor, saying Peters had taught by demonstration. "Some of those lessons, I'll take. Others I might leave with him." Peters eyes 2026 as he passes the baton The NZ First leader said his role as deputy prime minister had been to "offer experience... in a environment where a lot of ministers were new". Peters said the privilege of the position also came with "serious constraints" including a heavier workload and limits around expression. "Speaking your mind is marvellous - but we're not in a free-think society here. We're in a coalition, and one should always remember it." With his duties reduced, Peters said he would now have more time to focus on NZ First's election campaign, with a series of roadshows - "not eating sausage rolls" - planned around the country. "We took the first turn [as DPM], not the second one," he said. "It works out like a charm." Peters also planned to ease back his relentless travel schedule as foreign minister, as previously signalled. He will be overseas at the time of the handover, visiting Sri Lanka, Nepal, and India. By his return, he will have visited 44 individual countries in the past 18 months. "We've slogged it out trying to make up for the massive deficit that we inherited... it was pretty exhausting, and in that sense, it is going to be less now." As for what his election campaign would look like, Peters said he had learned the "bitter lessons" of 2020 and would bypass the mainstream media to speak directly to hundreds of thousands of "forgotten New Zealanders" over the next 18 months. "This time, we're getting the firepower, the army ready," he said. "We are better prepared than we've ever been in this party's political career." And Peters made clear he would seek to avoid another handover of the deputy prime ministership next term. "If we'd have been given a fair go in the 2023 election, there'd be no need for a handover," Peters said. "It's our intention to remove any doubt next election." Early election? Full term, the plan The exact date of the next election remains unset, though Labour has stirred mischief by raising the spectre of an early vote. Peters said he was "not really" preparing for that possibility: "You can never forecast any of those things, but our plan is the full term and stable government." Seymour also dismissed the idea his time as deputy prime minister could be cut short. "It's in absolutely nobody's interest - except perhaps the complete Looney Tunes in the Greens and Te Pāti Māori and their enablers in Labour. "There's only about 60 odd people in New Zealand - and they are odd people - who would benefit from an early election." Even Labour leader Chris Hipkins told RNZ he thought it unlikely: "Turkeys don't vote for an early Christmas."
Otago Daily Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Seymour vows straight talk, Peters fires up campaign
By Craig McCulloch of RNZ David Seymour has vowed to keep speaking freely as he takes over as deputy prime minister, while an unshackled Winston Peters shifts into campaign mode, planning to avoid another handover next term. And both men were quick to demonstrate their fire after Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said he still regards the number two job as largely ceremonial. The handover of the deputy prime ministership, as agreed during coalition negotiations, marks a new milestone for the government and the halfway point of its term. Seymour will head to the governor-general's official residence in Auckland on May 31 to be sworn in. In separate interviews the ACT and NZ First leaders remarked on the honour of holding the position, though downplayed the significance of the change. Seymour said the transition - in most respects - would be "business as usual", adding, "I've actually been the acting prime minister several times, and we're all still here, so don't worry." Peters too was matter-of-fact: "We signed up to that in 2023 - so we don't have reflections on it. Just stick to your word and keep going." Ceremonial? 'How would he know?' The position was one of the last points of contention to be resolved during coalition negotiations. At the time, Luxon sought to play down its importance, saying it was "largely a ceremonial role". Eighteen months on, Luxon said he stood by that, noting Peters and Seymour were only ever left in charge for brief stints: "When I do my trips [overseas], I'm pretty fast - in and out and back home pretty quickly." To that, Seymour sniped: "He doesn't think it's ceremonial when he leaves the country and relies on you to act for him. "A couple of times when I've been acting prime minister... we had the CrowdStrike [IT outage], we had the Chinese ships... you're the person on the spot for those decisions." Peters also gave Luxon's comments short shrift: "When he [first] said that, he had no experience himself of the job, so how would he know?" He pointedly noted that the opposition asked him far fewer questions during Parliament's Question Time than they ever did Luxon: "I kind of think that tells you something... experience matters, big time." Seymour: 'Won't be losing my freedom to think' Asked whether the new role would temper his at-time-outspoken style, Seymour was defiant. "I'm astonished you believe that my tone would need moderation or my remarks would need constraint," Seymour said. "I certainly won't be losing my freedom to think and to speak and to express what people in our communities are thinking." Seymour denied ever criticising his coalition partners, saying he had only ever responded to criticism: "Hopefully that won't be necessary again in this term of government." He stressed he intended to discharge his new responsibilities "very well" to demonstrate the ACT Party was "a serious player". "My responsibility is going to be regulation, education, finance and health, just like the day before," Seymour said. "My job will be to show New Zealanders that ACT is politically competent and can deliver and execute in government. This is another chapter of that - becoming DPM." Seymour said he'd not sought - nor received - advice from his predecessor, saying Peters had taught by demonstration. "Some of those lessons, I'll take. Others I might leave with him." Peters eyes 2026 as he passes the baton The NZ First leader said his role as deputy prime minister had been to "offer experience... in an environment where a lot of ministers were new". Peters said the privilege of the position also came with "serious constraints" including a heavier workload and limits around expression. "Speaking your mind is marvellous - but we're not in a free-think society here. We're in a coalition, and one should always remember it." With his duties reduced, Peters said he would now have more time to focus on NZ First's election campaign, with a series of roadshows - "not eating sausage rolls" - planned around the country. "We took the first turn [as DPM], not the second one," he said. "It works out like a charm." Peters also planned to ease back his relentless travel schedule as foreign minister, as previously signalled. He will be overseas at the time of the handover, visiting Sri Lanka, Nepal, and India. By his return, he will have visited 44 individual countries in the past 18 months. "We've slogged it out trying to make up for the massive deficit that we inherited... it was pretty exhausting, and in that sense, it is going to be less now." As for what his election campaign would look like, Peters said he had learned the "bitter lessons" of 2020 and would bypass the mainstream media to speak directly to hundreds of thousands of "forgotten New Zealanders" over the next 18 months. "This time, we're getting the firepower, the army ready," he said. "We are better prepared than we've ever been in this party's political career." And Peters made clear he would seek to avoid another handover of the deputy prime ministership next term. "If we'd have been given a fair go in the 2023 election, there'd be no need for a handover," Peters said. "It's our intention to remove any doubt next election." Early election? Full term, the plan The exact date of the next election remains unset, though Labour has stirred mischief by raising the spectre of an early vote. Peters said he was "not really" preparing for that possibility: "You can never forecast any of those things, but our plan is the full term and stable government." Seymour also dismissed the idea his time as deputy prime minister could be cut short. "It's in absolutely nobody's interest - except perhaps the complete Looney Tunes in the Greens and Te Pāti Māori and their enablers in Labour. "There's only about 60 odd people in New Zealand - and they are odd people - who would benefit from an early election." Even Labour leader Chris Hipkins said he thought it unlikely: "Turkeys don't vote for an early Christmas."
Scoop
2 days ago
- Politics
- Scoop
Luxon And Hipkins Talk Coalition Dynamics, People Skills And Direction For The 2026 Election
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has revealed his biggest surprise since entering politics: how many politicians lack people skills. As Parliament reaches the mid-point of the political term – and the handover of the deputy prime ministership from Winston Peters to David Seymour – RNZ sat down with both Luxon and Labour leader Chris Hipkins to reflect on the past 18 months. And Luxon wasn't the only one taking aim at his colleagues, with Hipkins observing he did not think Te Pāti Māori had done a good job of speaking up for Māori wāhine on pay equity in recent weeks, instead concentrating on its own 'song and dance around the privileges committee'. Luxon on coalition dynamics Luxon told RNZ the skills required to pull National out of its opposition 'dysfunction' were similar to what was now needed when leading a three-party coalition government. While compromise was required in a coalition, Luxon said the starting point for him was New Zealand First and ACT signing up to National's platform. 'And then, okay, there's also things that were peculiar or particular to both New Zealand First and ACT that are in those agreements that maybe National didn't agree with.' Luxon stressed the importance of relationships: 'You've got to know each person, you've got to understand what drives them, motivates them, and actually build a relationship, build a rapport.' He said he spoke daily with one or both coalition partners and valued face-to-face meetings or 'physical time together'. Asked to pick a favourite, he first laughed, before saying NZ First leader Winston Peters and ACT leader David Seymour were 'both different and equally special to me'. 'Winston's someone I've got to know and respect, and we've been able to build a good relationship and a good understanding of each other.' That did not mean he and Peters agreed on everything, he said, and it was a different relationship compared with Seymour, who he simply described as someone he had known as his neighbour in Auckland for years before entering politics. With next year's election looming, Luxon said it was important to him to look for and develop new talent to run for National. He said he came to politics four years ago 'realising that we're actually in the people business', but found 'people in politics don't have very good people skills'. 'There's often very poor professional and leadership development for these folk,' he said. 'A 35-year-old can show up here, and then you look forward at the age of 55, and they're not that much different from what they were at 35.' Hipkins on Labour's lessons Hipkins said National's 'instability and infighting' in opposition had served as 'a cautionary tale' for Labour MPs, as well as his own past experience in the political wilderness. That had taught him when a party lacked 'a good, trusting, robust internal culture', it led to instability. 'Politics is full of big personalities, it's full of passionate people and politics is fuelled on disagreement, so if you want to have a really unified, cohesive team, you have to create space where people can disagree with each other and argue that out constructively.' He pointed to his reported rift with colleague David Parker over tax: 'I still regard him as a friend, and we still get on very well on a personal level … you can disagree with someone without it becoming personal.' Like Luxon, Hipkins is aware of the importance of maintaining open dialogue with his potential coalition partners, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori. 'We are happy to continue to do that but we are separate parties, and ultimately we're each responsible for our own decisions.' But that did not stop him criticising the prime minister, saying Luxon's reluctance to establish National's dominance in the coalition set him apart from predecessors like Helen Clark, Sir Bill English and Sir John Key. He pointed to Te Pāti Māori's recent priorities as a point of difference with Labour. 'I think there are a lot of Māori women up and down the country who would like to have seen the Māori Party talking about the fact the government's cut their pay, rather than the song and dance around the privileges committee.' Hipkins intends to make it clear in the lead-up to the next election what are 'no-go zones' for Labour when it comes to any potential coalition partners or their policies. Peters this week 'permanently' ruled out forming a coalition with Labour under Hipkins ' leadership. Hipkins said he ruled out working with NZ First and Winston Peters ahead of the last election and that was unlikely to change 'even if the political landscape suggests that might mean another three years in opposition'. 'New Zealanders have had a gutsful of having David Seymour and Winston Peters holding the country to ransom, and I don't want to do anything that gives them more power to do that.' As opposition leader, he said he had made a point of applying one basic rule. 'I won't criticise the government for doing something that I would do in the same circumstances. 'I've seen other leaders of the opposition do that, where basically they get into a mould where anything the government does is bad and therefore needs to be criticised.' Looking ahead to 2026 The term's half-way point also signals a shift in parties' priorities as next year's election creeps closer. Hipkins told RNZ he wanted another shot as prime minister, arguing his first turn was not on his own terms, and rejected suggestions his track record could hurt his chances. He did not believe his time as prime minister or lead minister for the Covid response had tarnished his reputation, saying he felt most New Zealanders understood the conditions he was working under. 'Actually, I think it would make me a better prime minister the second time around, because I've had eight months of figuring out the job, and I know what to expect, and therefore I know how to prepare for it.' Luxon, meanwhile, said he would remain laser-focused on New Zealanders over the next 18 months and would not be distracted by so-called culture wars, which he says he does his best to avoid responding to when other political parties have pushed narratives around gender, diversity and inclusion. He said the New Zealand public was 'over the platitudes'. 'They're over the high language, they're over the process stories, they're over the beltway conversations that often happen here in Wellington and other capitals around the world,' he said. 'They want their politicians to freakin' deliver, and that's what it's about … that's what New Zealanders care about, that's the only thing they care about, outcomes.'
