Guy Nathan: Taxation (KiwiSaver and Company Tax RateAmendments) Bill — Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
Guy Nathan: Taxation (KiwiSaver and Company Tax RateAmendments) Bill — Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:639;Page:9477] 
NATHAN GUY (National) 
: 
 Here we are today in urgency and on this side of the Chamber we have about a dozen National MPs while on the other side of the Chamber we can see two. That is how seriously Labour is taking this legislation— 
Hon Chris Carter 
: I raise a point of order Mr Chairman. The member knows perfectly well that he cannot refer to the absence of members and obviously he certainly cannot count them. There are a lot more Labour MPs here than that. 
NATHAN GUY 
: As I was saying we are taking this legislation under urgency extremely seriously. The Government wants to ram it through and not put it through to a select committee. 
Sitting suspended from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. 
NATHAN GUY 
: I am keen to see the Government actually explain how it will sell KiwiSaver because I believe that a lot of the low-income earners in the area where I live in the likes of Foxton Shannon parts of Levin and Otaki will struggle to see any benefits from KiwiSaver. So I want to see and I want to hear today how the Government will get out there and sell this policy. I heard Gareth Morgan talking the other day. He believes that 30 percent of New Zealanders think KiwiSaver is something to do with saving the kiwis in the bush in New Zealand. 
So here we now have under urgency Dr Cullen ramming this bill through the House. He has bolted so much on to KiwiSaver that no one really understands it and he is expecting the House to adopt it here today under urgency. It will be implemented on 1 July under a mad mad rush. 
What we have seen under this Government—under Labour in particular and Dr Cullen’s ideology—is no tax breaks for the last 8 years. He expects low-income earners to save more and reduce their spending when we have a big-spending Government on the other side. So those hard-working people from the likes of Foxton Shannon and Levin—some of whom are on $11.25 a hour—who are expected to contribute $18 at 4 percent of their wage into KiwiSaver will struggle will they not? They will be in the smoko rooms or talking while they are working. A worker might be thinking: “What benefit am I going to get when I’ve got high interest rates I’ve got my mortgage being rolled over right now—where am I best to invest my money? Where am I best to put my hard-earned money? Is it better to put it into KiwiSaver at about $18-plus a week or not?”. That is what Mr Hughes will struggle to explain as he moves around the Otaki electorate which is the most marginal in the country and tries to sell this policy to hard-working New Zealanders. 
Right now half the workforce as Dr Cullen said when he addressed us here in Parliament will not sign up to KiwiSaver. If people have mortgages they are better off paying those off than investing in KiwiSaver. It will cost about 13 or 14 percent on my maths. High interest rates plus tax mean that people will be better off paying off their mortgages than putting money into KiwiSaver. 
Another thing I want members to explain is the duty of care and the trust deeds around KiwiSaver. Is the money secure? What is the reliability of people getting their money back when they are 65? 
The other thing that is really important in this bill is the taxation part of it. We have seen the reduction of the “chewing gum tax”. That has gone for the low-income earners. The union members of the Labour Government know that employers will have to negotiate with union members and I want to see how they will handle that when employers say that they have contributed part of workers’ pay increases because of the money they have contributed into KiwiSaver. So we will not see much of an increase in pay rates under this Government and under this proposal. 
Now we are seeing a huge divide between Australian and New Zealand wage brackets. In particular in Australia they are receiving a third higher in their net weekly pay in the hand. It is no wonder we are seeing 700 people a week leave New Zealand and head off to Australia. I understand we have a saving problem in this country but this will not fix it.