Mahuta Nanaia: KiwiSaver Budget Measures Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeMahuta Nanaia: KiwiSaver Budget Measures Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee Third Reading[Sitting date: 21 May 2015. Volume:705;Page:3851. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon NANAIA MAHUTA (Labour—Hauraki-Waikato):Having listened to that contribution I felt compelled to get to my feet and talk about the KiwiSaver bill. That 38 percent that he was talking about is more than likely to be under-5-year olds—parents who opened up a KiwiSaver account so that they could have a prospect of their child having a nest egg when they get older. [Interruption] Oh my gosh! Where is he from? And the $1000 that he is taking away from them is from the future generation and those parents who had a hope that they might have a nest egg.In speaking to clause 3 of the bill it is really important to go back to the principal Act. It is important that we create a generation of savers. In fact if you go to a number of schools—and many of us will remember the days or some of us will remember the days when you had the old PostBank deposit book and you took a gold coin—Ron Mark: My squirrel account.Hon NANAIA MAHUTA: Yes your squirrel account. You took your gold coin and you were able to save and by the time you left primary school you had a few savings.Well those days are gone. In fact what we knew when KiwiSaver was initiated was that there was a generation that had not known what saving was all about until KiwiSaver came along. The $1000 kick-start helped those families who are in the middle and working hard earning two incomes and want the prospect of having something for their kids when they turn 18 and can earn and have a little bit of a savings history to be able to continue to save. I think that is a good idea. Do you not? If you were listening to the Government you would have people think that this $1000 is being taken away from the most vulnerable. The reality is the most vulnerable cannot save. But those hard-working families who do have two incomes and want the prospect of their children having a nest egg when they get older will suffer.Mr Bennett knows like I know having visited St Vincent de Paul that the working poor is becoming more of a prospect in Hamilton than ever before. These are the people who go to St Vincent de Paul and who do have an income. They are working. They still have to go to these services to get a food parcel. He is taking $1000 away from them.That is a shame because what we know is that it is more important now than ever before to ensure that people can save for their future because they cannot rely on universal superannuation. In fact people do not know from one minute to the next whether or not the Government will actually continue to put money into the superannuation fund. But here is the thing for good New Zealanders who are listening to this debate on a Saturday morning when the Government is putting through under urgency this policy to take away $1000. What is it saying to working New Zealanders? It is saying that it is going to pull the rug out from under them. The first bit of legislation that it put into the House under urgency was about the child hardship grant raising the abatement—The CHAIRPERSON (Lindsay Tisch): Order! [Interruption] Order! Clause 3.Hon NANAIA MAHUTA: —actually takes away from working families and that is the point of the kick-start payment. Removing the kick-start actually takes away from those families who are working and do want the prospect of being able to save for their children. When Mr Bennett talked about the 38 percent who were not putting anything into KiwiSaver I thought to myself what planet is he on? He is certainly not in touch with the real world.In fact I have met a number of parents who are delighted with the kick-start payment who have said that for the first time they can open up an account for their child and then just put a little bit away over time—a little bit at a time. Then by the time their children reach 5 by the time they reach 10 the parents can talk to their child about this little nest egg that is growing. By the time they reach 18 they can say to their child that it is their time. In fact many parents have said that they are hoping that their child will get a job at 14 just doing little things like selling feijoas on the side of the road or something like that. But whatever it is it is about parents trying to teach the next generation that saving for the future is really important. The National Government is taking away the $1000 contribution from working families who want the hope and the prospect of a nest egg for their children. It is a shame and it is a shame that the Government is doing it under urgency.