"The Government will legislate to remove an anomaly unfairly depriving around 1,200 widows of pensions from the Government Superannuation Fund," Finance Minister Michael Cullen said today.

The proposed legislation will take effect from 1 July, next year.

"An earlier attempt to repair the anomaly in the previous Parliament by former Labour MP Jill White via a Private Members' Bill was defeated by the then National Government.

"I am confident this Parliament will take a more enlightened and progressive approach," Dr Cullen said.

Eligibility for GSF pensions is now suspended when the widows of GSF contributors who retired before 1985 remarry. The suspension remains in force until the marriage ends either through divorce or the death of the partner.

"The provision is a hangover from the old male breadwinner concept, so that when a spouse remarried, she was deemed to become the dependent of her new husband so no longer justified receipt of her deceased former husband's part pension.

"That is out of step with current social mores," Dr Cullen said.

The move is expected to cost a little over $2 million a year.

Ends

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>