Over the weekend, our friends in the Green Party announced a pretty cool policy: extending Kiwisaver to cover kids.
Establishing Kiwisaver accounts for newborns, replete with thousand-dollar kick-starters, is an excellent idea; and the near-$13,000 nest-egg a young person might have by age 18 is quite rightly being hailed as a “game-changer“.
Good thing, then, that New Zealand First was (as per usual) AHEAD of the game when we proposed exactly the same thing almost a year ago in August of 2014.
They say imitation is the highest form of flattery; and while some parties might get a little hot under the collar when their good ideas get taken up by others (e.g the present furor from Labour over National’s decision to levy a sort of capital gains tax on housing) … over here in New Zealand First we recognize that the politics game is about changing hearts and minds in order to implement policy.
A fellow Parliamentary party picking up on one of our great ideas is therefore nothing to be annoyed about. It’s one more ally in the fight to effect change.
So while I could well understand it if Winston were to be vaguely annoyed that press coverage seems much more positive for the Green Party’s announcement as compared to our own policy launch … I’m also somewhat more prosaic about what this means in practice.
Instead of castigating the Green Party for plagarism of our policy, I’m therefore CONGRATULATING the Greens for seeing sense and being sufficiently impressed with our idea that they’ve taken it up for themselves.
After all, successful politics is about working together; and co-operation is made that much more fruitful when you’re demonstrably singing off the same song-sheet to begin with. It’s also quite satisfying when your dance-partner defers to you in following your lead.
As a wise man once said: “Great minds think alike – dirty minds collaborate” 😉
#BlackGreen2017
NZ First are the leaders in “sensible policy” here and just a quick glance at their transport & electricity policy will show this.
NZ First is greener than green Party currently.
Examples are;
The Electricity industry needs an overhaul.
More funding for our public rail asset and less on private truck freight companies needs for truck routes.
National has a clear policy to promote this all road freight policy.
NatZ are embarking on big public funding for roads as they are closing down regional rail and sending any dollar they can find to bankroll mayor roads for these private truck freight overseas companies.
NZ First will not allow the destruction of our own asset of rail to die.
http://nzfirst.org.nz/policy/transport
http://nzfirst.org.nz/speech/new-zealand-firsts-transport-policy
I just don’t think the kids can go hungry and homeless for 18 years before they get their $18k ‘windfall’, which is probably only worth $1000 in real terms by the time they get it.
Perhaps start with something now to protect the kids?
I also think this type of policy is a red herring, there are some really serious things going on in this country and if Labour and the Greens only announcements are quite minor policies that benefit those in need 18 years away being hailed as some major game changer then it undermines their position.
So the environmental party are saying we got 70+ years of continued business as usual, and that investing in this system is the right thing to do?
It’s great to know we can ignore 404.1 ppm C02 (and growing).
ho hum
I had some mixed feelings about this policy. Is this not buying into the system that is run by financial investment services and banks, and doing nothing more than encourage savings. Of course it is good to encourage saving for the future, but what else will it solve? The Greens’ claim that it will do something to encourage poor kids to get the same chances as those of middle class and better off parents, does not quite wash, I fear.
Yes, they seem to offer slightly higher top ups from the government for those in poor households, but in the end, this does nothing to reduce student debt, as fees continue to climb anyway, under the given system, so do house prices in places like Auckland.
And the savings have to come from somewhere, through foregone spending. Although there are these government top-ups, first there must be annual contributions made by the parents, or others gifting money to the kids. Where does that come for poor parents? It means they have to try and save from meagre incomes. The end result will also be less spending on goods and services, which can slow the economic performance of the country, at least a bit.
Kiwisaver I used to support, but I have become more sceptical as of recent, as it is nothing but an agenda to privatise retirement payments for the elderly. It was brought in to “supplement” state pensions and so, but with the demographics going as they are, one day people will need Kiwisaver to survive on an even basic level. The danger is that further government cost cutting will reduce state retirement pensions and super down the line. There is no guarantee that a future government may not do so.
Another worrying development is the government we have now allowing Kiwisaver funds to be used for deposits for a first home and so, thus hollowing out the purpose of that savings scheme.
And last not least, all savings that are accrued over years, they are at risk of being lost anyway, should there be a financial crisis, or banks go belly up. Forget not that such savings are not just sitting in a large safe at a bank or financial institute, they get INVESTED, on the share-market and elsewhere, so there is NO absolute guarantee your savings will be there for you to tap when you retire.
So Kiwisaver is just as insecure as relying on future governments to look after you once in retirement.
I thought I might throw this into the discussion to reflect on.
There are several things at the moment that are dependent of growth
Cancer, Kiwi Saver and Human extinction, they can’t occupy the same space.
Bit of a false equivalence on the National stealing Labour’s policy thing. National put a loophole on that legislation that makes it pointless. The Greens obviously aren’t doing the same, being as you’re so stoked about them taking up this stance.
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