Wednesday 5 November

Progressive step to enhance security in retirement

The coalition government's decision to encourage public sector employees to save more for their retirement through an employer-supported retirement savings scheme is "another progressive step to enhance peoples' financial security in retirement," Progressive Party leader, Jim Anderton, said today.

"It is important that the government, as an employer, sets a good example in rewarding those in the productive workforce to get into the habit of taking steps where they can to improve their financial security in retirement," Jim Anderton said.

New Zealand has run current account deficits in each and every year for over quarter of a century which means that New Zealand needs to both export more high quality goods and services and that New Zealanders need to save more than they have been if they can.

The Progressive Party is also committed to the government providing all people aged over 65 with government-funded universal superannuation and believes the government itself should save now to ensure this policy can be afforded into the future.

This contrasts with National, whose leader Don Brash has indicated he would like to raise the age of eligibility for New Zealand superannuation. National would also destroy the coalition government's new Superannuation Fund which is the Labour Progressive government's way of saving now to help pay for known government pension liabilities in future years and for a future generation of New Zealanders.

www.progressive.org.nz

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Gordon Campbell: On The New Government’s Policies Of Yesteryear

Winston Peters is routinely described as the kingmaker who decides whether the centre right or the centre-left has a turn at running this country. He also plays a less heralded, but equally important role as the scapegoat who can be blamed for killing taxes that his senior partners never much wanted in the first place. Neither Ardern nor Robertson for example, really wanted a capital gains tax, for fear of Labour copping the “tax and spend“ label they ended up being saddled with anyway. Usefully though, they could tell the party faithful it was wicked old Winston who killed the CGT. More