Never Being Boring
National underwhelms as Labour excites.
UPDATE: This post has reached 100 likes, so I’m now making it publicly available. A huge thank you to all my awesome paying subscribers for your support - I could not do this without you!
‘Cause we were never being boring
We had too much time to find for ourselves
And we were never being boring
We dressed up and fought, then thought, “Make amends”
And we were never holding back or worried that
Time would come to an end
Songwriters: Christopher Lowe / Neil Tennant
A Game-changer?
Much of the political discussion over the past week has focused on the leadership of the National Party. Would Luxon be stabbed in the back, waiting for Nicola’s green shoots of economic revival to emerge? What could he do to fend off the rise of Chris Bishop?
Christopher and Nicola must have racked their brains to come up with something to improve the party’s fortunes in the polls and reduce the risk of the boss walking the plank. Unfortunately for our reluctant swimmer, the best they could come up with was gradually increasing KiwiSaver over the next few years.
As Hail Marys go, it was right up there with taking GST off Fruit and Vegetables. A good idea, for sure, but one that is hard to get excited about and won't move the polls or keep the sharks at bay.
Last night, Christopher Luxon appeared on the news to promote his plan to raise the combined KiwiSaver employer and employee contribution rate to 12%, matching the Australian savings rate.
It was underwhelming and left me thinking that not only did he need some new policies, but probably some new shoes. I posted:
Luxon says, “We need to aim higher”
It sounds like he’s been pissing on his feet.
Doug replied, “If Luxon is the modern age William Tell, the apple is safe.”
Inequality and Kiwisaver.
This morning, the PM appeared on Breakfast, where experts had been asking how we could close the gap for those on lower incomes. KiwiSaver most benefits those on the highest incomes who can afford the optional contributions and men who don’t typically take a career break for children.
Keep in mind that alongside the additional contributions to KiwiSaver, the first of which was announced in the last budget, National aims to raise the age of superannuation eligibility over a similar period.
My initial thought was surely we’d be better off investing more money in the Cullen Fund to pay for everyone’s Super as intended. The KiwiSaver contributions will go disproportionately to those who need them least—those who have likely built up more wealth than those who retire with smaller funds to live on.
By all means, be successful and enjoy the fruits of your labour, but do we really have to be unequal even in contributions for our retirements?
At the start of the interview, Chris Chang asked why they hadn’t gone the whole way to match what is available in Australia. Instead of answering, the PM gave an overview of how our retirement savings work with Universal Super, augmented by a Kiwisaver nest egg, as opposed to Australia, where employers contribute 12% for all employees.
A poor track record.
Luxon said our savings rate has long been a problem and that it’s important that we start down a path to resolve it, which was a bit rich, given National’s track record on retirement savings.
Going right back to Robert Muldoon’s decision to cancel the New Zealand Superannuation Scheme, which is regarded by some as the worst financial decision ever made in Aotearoa.
Since KiwiSaver was introduced, they have chipped away at what Labour set up, making the following changes:
In the 2011 budget, the Member Tax Credit rate was halved from $1 to 50c for every $1 contributed by members, up to $521 a year – half the previous maximum.
In 2012, the employer superannuation contribution tax (ESCT) was introduced. Before that, the employer contribution was tax-free.
In 2015, they repealed the $1,000 “kick-start” payment.
In 2025, the Luxon government reduced the maximum government contribution from $521.43 to $260.72 from 1 July 2025
So, National have a record of reducing the government contribution, getting rid of the kick-start payment, and taxing the employer contribution. Now they expect you, the voting public, to believe that they’re the party for improving KiwiSaver.
Luxon did say that our public Super scheme would remain an entitlement, which was reassuring because if anyone knows about entitlements, it’s him.
Kiwisaver contributions are optional, meaning that those doing it toughest who can’t afford to save another 3% of their incomes can opt out, leaving them even further behind when it comes to retirement.
You’d hate to see people miss out, but in a cost-of-living crisis, current economic conditions mean this policy will leave Kiwis with less money in their pockets. Aside from the employee payments, the employer contributions that Luxon is so generously raising will inevitably come out of any pay rises you might have received over the next few years.
Luxon is giving you your own money, whether it's your contributions or those of your employer, who sees it as part of the cost of employing you.
Chang asked how much risk there was that those who can afford to contribute would move ahead, while poorer people are left behind. At this point, Luxon headed for La La Land and said there had been good wage growth under his government, with people receiving pay rises above inflation.
Cool story, Christopher, we can’t save your ghost pay rises.
Chang then asked the PM how they would manage it so that people weren’t worse off in the short term. It’s a fair question, as realistically, deferring spending to save will hit people in their pockets.
A more honest PM might have admitted as much, but Luxon said it wouldn’t, as they were staggering the increases at half a per cent a year, to give employees and employers time to react. As if by being forewarned, people and businesses would somehow have the extra money.
The interviewer even quoted Brad Olsen, the most National friendly of economists, assuming you don’t regard Jason Walls as one, who said, “If you’re going to save for the future, you have to pay for it now”, which makes sense. However, when asked what we’d be giving up, Luxon looked bewildered by the idea that he would admit to there being consequences to his decision.
Luxon said he wanted Kiwis to be wealthier because that gave them more choice in life, and he’s not wrong. If you’re on Super without individual savings or perhaps owning a house, you certainly have few options, but shouldn’t our aspirations extend to those people too?
The PM was asked about cross-party support, which is relatively straightforward, as I can’t see anyone other than ACT opposing it, and Winston has already come forward to claim it was his idea in the first place. Luxon said it was common sense, with a cheeky wink.
Which makes you wonder why he hadn’t done it already and why he was making this a National Party announcement rather than just something his government was doing.
The interview moved to ructions within the coalition over the Regulatory Standards Act, and the PM said “strong and stable” a lot, so you knew it wasn’t.
Labour Candidates.
While the National Party were unveiling one of the least inspiring policies you could come up with, the Labour Party were announcing some of the strongest candidates you could imagine.
I’m not just talking good here, as in someone capable who knows a thing or two, I’m talking about absolute experts, like the best you could get. If someone had asked me who I’d like to see running for Labour, then Dr Gary Payinda and Craig Renney would’ve easily been in my top five.
It speaks volumes about people of such calibre to raise their hands, leaving impressive careers in medicine and economics, because of their commitment to the country and their belief that something must be done about the damage being inflicted on our nation, especially our economy and healthcare system, by the current government.
Add Payinda and Renney to Barbara Edmonds and Dr Ayesha Verrall, along with others like the returning Michael Wood and top performers like Kieran, Carmel, and Chippy, and that’s a formidable team to put up against a government that looks tired and bereft of ideas after two years in charge.
Labour is assembling an outstanding team while National announces KiwiSaver changes, which, despite being well-intentioned, will lead to greater inequality in retirement.
If it were up to me, I’d make the existing KiwiSaver programme compulsory for all and invest the additional savings made by employers and employees as a result of this policy into the Cullen Fund to provide a more equal retirement income for all, without raising the age of Super.
What do you think we should do?
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Have a great Monday, folks.
Ngā mihi,
Nick.
To end today, here’s the Pet Shop Boys with Being Boring.
As this is now public, you’re welcome to share it. ❤️
If this one reaches 100 likes by this afternoon, I'll open it up to all.
So National think they are doing well with their ideas on Kiwisaver ? OMG.!!! They are suggesting that WE pay in more, and EMPLOYERS pay in more. No mention of this grabamint helping financially....Luxon must think we are all stupid to accept this as a wonderful new policy. It's our own money, FFS !..