Williams Andrew: New Zealand Superannuation and Retirement Income Amendment Bill — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeWilliams Andrew: New Zealand Superannuation and Retirement Income Amendment Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 19 March 2014. Volume:697;Page:16811. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]ANDREW WILLIAMS (NZ First):I was not listening to the previous speaker Maggie Barry because I wanted to keep focused on the subject at hand and make a valuable contribution to this debate rather than the usual toxic round-up that we receive from the other side of the House. In that respect we are here to talk about the New Zealand Superannuation and Retirement Income Amendment Bill which allows Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation “as manager and administrator of the Fund to control entities formed for the purpose of holding facilitating or managing the investments of the Fund”.The National Government was wrong to stop Government contributions to the New Zealand Superannuation Fund in 2009. In 2009 the National Government suspended Government payments into the fund. The New Zealand Treasury projects that contributions will not resume until 2016-17. As at 30 June 2013 capital contributions not made by the Government totalled $8.6 billion. So in the period that this Government has been in office since 2008—then it made the decision in 2009—it has reduced the contributions to every man’s woman’s and child’s future superannuation by $8.6 billion in that short space of time. That is appalling because during the same period of time the 12 months ended 30 June 2013 the fund posted a 25.8 percent return—a 25.8 percent return.The Minister of Finance Bill English has the cheek to sit over there and say he determined that it was not good to be borrowing money—$100 million a week—and be putting money into every New Zealander’s future superannuation. The Government can borrow at about 4 percent—even less than 4 percent. But the Minister of Finance in his wisdom—even with foresight hindsight rear sight and any other sight—determined that it was not good mathematics to invest in a fund that last year returned a 25.8 percent return.John Hayes: No it didn’t—9 percent.ANDREW WILLIAMS: Go on to its website Mr Hayes and you will see on the website that it says 25.8 percent. The rate of return on the Superannuation Fund since its inception back in 2002 has been an average of 9.35 percent per annum against a risk-free rate of return had it simply put the money in the bank of 4.79 percent. So it is double. It is double what a risk-free return would have been for the whole period.On 12 March 2014 just last week the New Zealand Superannuation Fund invested an additional US$50 million in Bloom Energy in the United States which is a maker of onsite power generation. This followed an initial US$50 million investment in May 2013. So in the last year the New Zealand Superannuation Fund has invested US$100 million in a US energy company. The New Zealand Superannuation Fund has stated that “the investment would help the Fund take advantage of increasing demand for energy globally” to go alongside its traditional energy investments. Is it not interesting that the New Zealand Superannuation Fund which now has $25 billion in assets including $3.7 billion invested in New Zealand is investing large sums of money in overseas energy assets? Is that not interesting?John Hayes: No.ANDREW WILLIAMS: Well it is very interesting—Mr Hayes says it is not interesting—because New Zealand First has said we will buy back the power companies and the utilities that were 100 percent owned by all New Zealanders up until last year. They were owned by all New Zealanders. We have said we will buy them back. A jolly good investment for the New Zealand Superannuation Fund would be to invest back into our utilities and our power companies—take them back but not under Government control so that politicians like Mr Hayes Mr English and others can then flick them on so their mates 2½ percent of New Zealanders can benefit from owning the shares. If we put them into ownership under the New Zealand Superannuation Fund and under KiwiSaver funds so that all New Zealanders can own those assets once again then every drop of water that goes down the Waikato River through Mr Bennett’s electorate of Hamilton East and every drop of water that goes down through Ātiamuri Karapiro and all those other dams can be returning money. They are all like ATM machines all those dams on the Waikato River—they are like ATM machines. Those dams in the future through the New Zealand Superannuation Fund could be returning funds for the future of New Zealanders’ superannuation.Further to that this is all about ensuring that when we all retire at 65 and we will retire at 65—David Bennett: Retire then.ANDREW WILLIAMS: —well some like you Mr Bennett might be a bit earlier than that—we can provide for our seniors when they do finally give up working and employment. New Zealand First in conjunction with this bill—and we support this bill and we think that it is a sensible thing to allow the Superannuation Fund to be able to control its destiny and investments. New Zealand First has a brilliant scheme in terms of superannuation as part of this whole package. That would be that you are entitled to receive it at 65 and keep it at 65 on the basis of how long you have paid into the scheme. If you have been in this country from age 20 through to 65 you would be entitled to have 5 years’ repayment holiday if you are away on your OE travelling or living overseas for a period of time. But for the other 40 years up to age 65 if you have worked here or if you have brought up a family here or if you have been a resident here you would receive 100 percent of the superannuation pay-out under New Zealand First’s policy. For every year that you are out of the country over and above that you would receive one-fortieth less. So if you have been in this country for only 20 years out of the 40 years of that eligible period you would get twenty-fortieths. You would get one-half. But in so doing we would allow portability of superannuation from the countries of origin. So if you are coming out of these countries of origin you can bring your superannuation with you and then get the balance according to how much time you have spent in this country.It is very clear that this country is becoming a soft touch. It is becoming a soft touch for people who see us as a place to come and live because they can then get superannuation very easily. They can then go on to our public health system. They can then go on to our ACC system. New Zealand is being seen as a soft touch around the world to come and live in because we will give out all the handouts.Well if we are going to be serious about this and if we are going to ensure—and we have 600000 superannuitants this year and within the next 15 to 20 years there will be 1.1 million superannuitants and that is a huge blossoming of the postwar baby boomers over the next 15 to 20 years—that the 4.5 million people in New Zealand will be able to afford to keep the superannuation scheme and the payments going we have to have it in tandem with a restructured scheme such as the one New Zealand First is suggesting. We have to ensure that Governments of the day such as National continue to invest in the scheme and that they do not pull it out that they do not stop investing and that the politicians do not meddle with it but continue to allow the superannuation scheme to grow. It is estimated that it will be worth over $100 billion within the next 20 or 30 years. New Zealand First supports this bill but we condemn the Government for what it has done to the superannuation scheme in the last 4 years.