Wong Pansy: KiwiSaver Bill — In Committee 
Wong Pansy: KiwiSaver Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:633;Page:4921] 
PANSY WONG (National) 
: 
 Part 2 has 40 pages and it is really interesting that the Labour members seem for the first time to understand what is in this bill. That is why they are getting very nervous and excited. They now realise that this legislation will not save them in the polling even though the Minister of Finance pushed it out as if it would be the saviour for Labour. Part 2 has 40 pages dedicated to procedure and definitions. In fact there is a distinction between new employment and new jobs which apparently are quite different. I wonder whether the Minister in the chair the Hon Lianne Dalziel would like to take a call and say whether the Government will propose a subsidy to employers for administering this scheme or learning how to comply with all these 40 pages of requirements. Last time the Labour Government introduced payroll legislation that affected employers instead of making an employer’s job easier it actually provided a subsidy to employers who furnished PAYE returns. Instead of reducing compliance and making life easy for employers it is continuing with the Labour hallmark of putting people on welfare—introducing welfare and putting taxpayers’ money into that. 
It is interesting that in my hand I have one of the little red books—no doubt it is part of the $882000 stolen by the Labour Party for election expenses last year. The Labour Party spin machine states that some people talk about a Budget surplus as if there was a pile of money building up in the Government’s bank account when in fact all the money was spent on current and future New Zealanders. What it is really trying to say is that all the money was spent on stealing last year’s election for the Labour Government—$882000! Now it is fine for the Government to preach to New Zealanders on spending. Why would New Zealanders need incentives to spend when they have a Government that steals over $800000 of their money to use on spin? 
Then the Government turns around and says it is for the good of New Zealanders that they should learn to save. It is interesting that the Minister just now said this bill is not for people who cannot afford to save. So firstly we want to know what measures the Government has for those people in order to get them into a position where they can afford to save. The other interesting thing is that the Minister said that this bill is for people who can save but will not save. Well that is the Labour Government making a huge judgment call and accusing New Zealanders who it says can save but will not save. I say that the Labour Government provides a very poor example to people by failing to ensure there is less wastage of taxpayers’ money. It should not have given local government all those additional responsibilities without funding. Local government is taking so much off individuals through tax for council rates that that ensures they are in the position of being unable to save. 
I hope the Minister will take a call and say how she on the one hand champions the reduction of compliance costs yet on the other hand has 40 pages in Part 2 of the KiwiSaver Bill that do nothing to encourage anybody to save but rather put a lot of additional paperwork and administrative barriers in the way of employers and equally of employees. 
Our fine National member Craig Foss once again gingerly pointed out that all that talk about KiwiSaver being voluntary was rubbish. It is not quite voluntary.