12. Question No. 12—Commerce and Consumer AffairsHELEN WHITE (Labour) to the Minister of Commerce and Consumer AffairsQuestion No. 12—Commerce and Consumer AffairsHELEN WHITE (Labour): Kia ora Mr Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Commerce—Chris Bishop: Oh oh she's not happy!HELEN WHITE: —and Consumer Affairs.SPEAKER: Order! That'll happen for tomorrow. Helen White start again.12. HELEN WHITE (Labour) to the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs: What recent announcement has he made about changes to KiwiSaver?Matt Doocey: Point of order Mr Speaker. You've just taken two questions off the Opposition for tomorrow. You'll remember that at the start of question time today the Government interrupted the Leader of the Opposition when she asked her question and you didn't do anything then.SPEAKER: Yes and that was because I was allowing for something which had happened last Thursday to balance it off then.Chris Bishop: Point of order Mr Speaker. I didn't realise you'd taken two supplementaries off. I didn't actually hear what you said before. But I'd just note that the reason why there was a bit of a hubbub during the asking of that last supplementary from the member was in response to a provocation from the Minister making a reasonably sarcastic and mocking signal to my colleague and that's why there was a bit of a hubbub.SPEAKER: Well I'm not sure if there was a hubbub. I heard that member yelling loudly.Hon Dr DAVID CLARK (Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs): Last week the Minister of Finance and I announced changes to the default KiwiSaver scheme which will result in hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders getting far better bang for their buck with lower fees and increased savings at retirement. On the advice of an investment panel BNZ Booster BT Funds Management Kiwi Wealth Simplicity KiwiSaver Scheme and Smartshares have been selected as default providers. These six providers were selected because they offer Kiwis more bang for their buck in terms of lower fees and higher levels of service.Helen White: How many Kiwis stand to benefit from these changes?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: Good news: around 381000 members are currently in the default fund they were automatically allocated to when they started a new job because they did not make any active decisions about their fund. The changes will also mean that those joining the scheme at 18 could have an extra $143000—Angie Warren-Clark: How much?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: —in their balance—$143000—at retirement through lower fees and higher investment returns.Helen White: What other changes have been made to the KiwiSaver default provider settings?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: As part of the new default provider arrangements we've moved the default investment fund type from a conservative to a balanced setting to increase the likelihood of higher returns over the long term. We also know that many Kiwis care about where their money is invested so we've excluded any investments in fossil fuel production. This reflects our Government's commitment to addressing the impacts of climate change and transitioning to a low-emissions economy.Chlöe Swarbrick: Will the Government build on this important decision to exclude fossil fuel investments from default KiwiSaver funds as the Greens have long campaigned for by requiring public investment funds to divest perhaps by adopting my member's bill in the ballot right now which would do exactly that?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: We are certainly committed to moving towards responsible investment. In fact as one of the changes to default provider settings they will now be responsible for providing a responsible investment policy which will be lodged on their website. Of course consumers with more active choices and with products like Mindful Money will be able to see where their KiwiSaver funds are being invested and make those ethical decisions themselves.SPEAKER: Order! But before we move on to the next item of business I've been contemplating what occurred before and I want to ask whether a Minister made an offensive gesture or a gesture likely to lead to disorder.Hon Poto Williams: Mr Speaker I applauded.SPEAKER: Frankly in fact I'd assumed it was the member next to her just on the basis of form and it might have actually been an offensive gesture to cause that sort of reaction. I think members on this side need to be a bit less sensitive. That concludes oral questions. I declare the House in committee for consideration of the Overseas Investment Amendment Bill (No 3) the Holidays (Increasing Sick Leave) Amendment Bill and the Building (Building Products and Methods Modular Components and Other Matters) Amendment Bill.