While it was good to see the government take some action with regard to the Kiwisaver default saver fund in order to deliver a better financial outcome for investors it would be nice if it now looked to its own banking behaviour.
For over 30 years now the Australian owned Westpac Bank has been the New Zealand government’s banker .
With the Westpac apparently thinking of demerging its New Zealand operation isn’t it time to ask:
Shouldn’t a New Zealand owned bank be handling our government’s business?
Shouldn’t the profits from handling our money be staying here and not going overseas?
Bryan Bruce is one of NZs most respected documentary makers and public intellectuals who has tirelessly exposed NZs neoliberal economic settings as the main cause for social issues.
However no NZ owned bank has the scale of operations to provide the banking services the Government requires. But most commentators would have no knowledge of that.
Kiwibank was a good idea, but the service levels needed to be a lot higher for it to attract a wider range of NZer’s. There is a cost to change banks for the government and individuals and bank loans tie you into the bank in many cases. Government could look as less tie in regulations for banks so people can change banks easier.
The OZ banks service levels have been declining for some time, if Kiwibank wants to compete now is time to make the challenge, but first they need much higher service levels and aim it at a wider group of NZer’s.
Yes the government needs to look at their own banking behaviour. I use to bank with Westpac by default as they took over the Wellington Savings Bank but l got sick and tired of Westpac always trying to sell me products and services I didn’t need. And they tried to get me to put my kiwi saver with them when they already had most of my money. I preferred it when I got my weekly pay in a little brown envelope in cash with a white pay slip as banking has been forced on us further eroding our privacy. I now bank with a small NZ owned bank called the Cooperative Bank. NZers need more education and lobbying around money and banking we tend to be a bit, shall be right, not a good attitude to have.
Jim Anderton fought hard to get the Govt to allow Kiwibank to be set up.
Jim was alarmed at the total take of dividends derived from the NZ workers that were exported to foreign investor groups.
A reasonably recent study tracing the shareholdings og the four Ozzie based banks that harvest billions out of NZ each year, showed that it is a common pool that owns the substantial part and control of those 4 Ozzie banks.
I have heard for years the myth “that NZ needs over seas capital”. That is absolute bullshit as any overseas capital is a conduit to siphon off Kiwi earned money to off shore investors, or used to increase their hold on NZ earnings by expanding their holdings here.
A concerted program of channeling NZ money into NZ enterprises with Govt backing and subsidy where necessary is sorely needed. Buying back out Energy sector and unraveling the roger douglarse destruction of corpratising government owned (by the people) infrastructure would be a start.
The international neoliberal machine is eating up NZ, holding down wages, pushing up house prices and creating poverty.
A new direction – YES.
Workers cooperatives can be very sucessful where you hasve democracy working in the workplace and profits stay with the workers in NZ. Jeremy Corbyn got crucified by the Zionist faction of UK politics because he was sympathetic to the Palestinians. But his economic policies were far reaching and aimed towards greater equity for the common person
https://labourlist.org/2018/02/corbyn-and-mcdonnell-take-control-with-a-cooperative-economy/
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/sep/10/jeremy-corbyn-extension-workers-rights-labour-tuc-congress
https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/jeremy-corbyn-unveils-right-own-john-lewis-style-employee-ownership-policy-1581548
The expanding “elite” group suck trillions out of the world economy, money that is created by workers. Hence they have money to burn used to buy up companies and invest in privatised govt functions.
This will continue unless it is stopped. A battle ground of large numbers of citizens against a small financially powerful owner of the MSM and many in parliament.
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Kiwisaver put hard earned wages into private investor hands to play with , gamble and take profit plus charge the Kiwis for holding their money.
THE NZ GOVERNMENT needs to open a Kiwisaver option where the workers opting in have their money held in Govt coffers safe from any downturn where the private.sector “investment” funds are likely to disappear.
The money would be kept safe onshore and used to help reduce Govt debt so only a small rate of interest would be needed to attract Kiwis into the scheme.
Govt backed, onshore, supporting Govt and NZ people.
Why doesn’t the government simply buy Westpac and merge it with Kiwibank as Social Credit proposed back in March. It wouldn’t cost taxpayers a cent. You can read the press release https://www.socialcredit.nz/govtshouldbuywestpac
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