Nats to back Cullen's fund

In one of the worst kept secrets in politics the National Party virtually confirmed yesterday it would accept the New Zealand Superannuation Fund.

Friday, November 26th 2004, 3:59AM

by Rob Hosking

National is expected to come out hard against the government ‘s proposals to encourage workplace savings, particularly the proposal to make employers offer access to schemes.

Finance spokesman John Key was highly sceptical of the workplace savings proposals at the Association of Superannuation Funds conference in August, pointing out that similar moves had been made in the United Kingdom and that, even with tax incentives, 85% of those schemes have no members.

On the New Zealand Superannuation Fund front National is expected to formally announce its position next week: however there have been sufficient hints over recent months for the move to be less than a surprise.

Finance spokesman John Key dropped a heavy hint to Good Returns as long ago as September, when he spoke of changing the laws relating to public/private partnerships, so the New Zealand Superannuation fund could invest in local infrastructure such as roads.

Although Key would not spell it out at the time, implicit in his musings on public/private partnerships was the continuation of the fund. Key has always sounded sceptical about National’s policy at the last election, of dumping the fund and using the money for tax cuts and to pay down debt.

He is understood to have argued that, if National is to remain consistent to its view that the aging population is going to be a problem for superannuation, abolishing the fund, only to have to start raising the money in about a decade, does not make sense.

Leader Don Brash has historically been much less accepting on the fund, although he has always been far less clear about any alternatives to deal with the aging population.

Rob Hosking is a Wellington-based freelance writer specialising in political, economic and IT related issues.

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