United Future
Hon Peter Dunne

Dunne seeks superannuation accord

A copy of the letter follows.

An Open Letter to the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition

Dear Ms Clark & Dr Brash,

The National Party’s decision to support the New Zealand Superannuation Fund provides a new opportunity for a multi-party solution to the superannuation issue, to provide certainty and security for all New Zealanders in their retirement.

However, the mere act of mutual support for the current policy settings including the pre-funding arrangement and the ages of eligibility and rates of payment, is not sufficient to ensure the viability and certainty of superannuation arrangements into the future.

The only way to provide long-term assurance to New Zealanders that the game of political football over superannuation has ended is for all the political parties to come together in a new Accord to give the absolute certainty that New Zealanders have been craving for the last quarter century on this issue.

This is crunch leadership issue, and I am urging you both to accept the challenge of going the next step to forge a new multi-party superannuation Accord. This will provide much needed certainty to those approaching and in retirement that the partisan enmities of the last three decades over superannuation have been laid aside, and have been replaced by a new consensus on the future of superannuation. This is what New Zealanders of all age groups are seeking, and the establishment of a fresh Accord would be a positive towards re-establishing trust and confidence in the political process. It is a challenge neither of you can afford to pass up.

I would be pleased to work with you both to bring a new Accord together, and trust this proposal will be considered favourably

Yours sincerely,