﻿Mr SPEAKER: The House comes to Questions for Oral Answer.
METIRIA TUREI (Co-Leader—Green)
to the PM: Does he stand by all his statements?
Rt Hon JOHN KEY (PM): Yes.
Metiria Turei: Does he stand by his reported statement
that no one had been disadvantaged by the move
to scrap the $1,000 KiwiSaver kick-start payment?
Rt Hon JOHN KEY: The member might want to table the source
for that because I cannot recall it.
Metiria Turei: Has the PM seen that NZ ranks 22nd
out of 24 countries in the OECD for savings,
and will his removal of the $1,000 KiwiSaver kick-start
contribution make this poor savings record better or worse?
Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Firstly, savings records have improved
under this Government. Secondly, there are multiple ways
of measuring those things. And, thirdly, the removal
of the $1,000 kick-start contribution will not make
a blind bit of difference to the number of people
who join KiwiSaver.
Metiria Turei: What evidence does the PM have that
the sign-up rates for KiwiSaver will not be affected?
Rt Hon JOHN KEY: That is the formal advice
from the Inland Revenue Dept (IRD), and it is supported
by the view that the people who are joining KiwiSaver
are essentially doing so because it is now
well organised within the workplace. Some of the big
scheme providers are extremely well organised.
We have got about 15,000 to 20,000 people joining
in a month. I would be very, very surprised
if it changes at all as a result of this.
Metiria Turei: Does the PM agree with the Service
and Food Workers Union, which said that low-paid workers
said that they would be the hardest hit by his decision
to axe the kick-start?
Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Definitely not. The lowest-paid workers
will be supported by the fact that the Government increased
the Working for Families contribution by $12.50 a week.
They will also be supported if they were ever on a benefit
by the increase of $25. But, overall, I do not think
the removal of $1,000 that people would get
in 40 years’ time will be that material.
Metiria Turei: Has the PM seen that savings in NZ
are currently concentrated in the top one-fifth
of all income earners, and will his removal
of the $1,000 KiwiSaver kick-start make saving
for those in the bottom four-fifths of income earners
easier or harder?
Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Well, it is logical, actually—
and, I suspect, consistent around pretty much
every OECD country—that those who earn the most
technically save the most, because savings, of course,
is forgone consumption. It is one of the very reasons
why this political party will never be means testing
NZ superannuation, as Labour is now promoting.
Metiria Turei: Does the PM understand that wealth inequality
in NZ is twice as large as income inequality,
and will his removal of the $1,000 KiwiSaver kick-start
strengthen or weaken the incentives for all NZers
to build wealth through savings?
Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I think it is important to remember
that KiwiSaver is a scheme where after you put in
your 3% contribution, employers put in 3%
and the Government puts in the member’s tax credit.
If you look at all of those numbers over the normal sort of
45-year working period for most people,
$1,000 is immaterial.
Mr SPEAKER: Question No 2.
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