Author: Hon. Assoc. Prof. Susan St. John

It is very strange that we are getting drip fed some important changes to NZ Super with little fanfare or discussion.  Even stranger, given this is the year that the Retirement Commissioner has a statutory duty to review all retirement incomes policy. 

The window of opportunity is fast closing to get the taxation of housing right.

Why so quiet Minister Sepuloni?  This is amazing and was found by chance on your department’s website.  Is vindication  for the small group of superannuitants affected by the Spousal Provision applied under section 70 of the Act imminent?

Releasing the Welfare Expert Advisory Group report at 2pm Friday (3rd May) just before the weekend at a far-flung West Auckland venue miles from the train station was a masterstroke of political strategy.

While CGT might have been a one-way ticket to oblivion for this government, the original problems that the Minister of Finance asked the TWG 2019 to address have not gone away. These are housing unaffordability and increased inequality, both of which are highly damaging to New Zealand’s future stability and prosperity.  

The Winter Energy Payment (WEP) provides older people extra income to keep warm during the winter. It sounds kind, but is it a glaring example of wasteful expenditure and poor allocation of scarce resources?

There is an old 4 bed room house in Epsom I drive past that has been left to deteriorate, uninsulated, mouldy and damp, rusty roof and leaking gutters set in overgrown unkempt grounds. It was sold to an overseas owner five years ago it now belongs to another overseas owner who paid $500,000 more for it and has it in the hands of a letting agency. Rent has come down by $80 a week to $915 a week after it was empty for months. It is not alone, there are many other examples throughout Auckland.