Brash calls for referendum on pension age
ACT would make a referendum part of a confidence and supply agreement with National after the election.
ACT would make a referendum part of a confidence and supply agreement with National after the election.
Act leader Don Brash (71) has called for a referendum on the age of eligibility for superannuation.
Dr Brash said despite it being “widely acknowledged” as necessary, any move towards raising the pension age had been stymied by Prime Minister John Key's promise that he - aged 50 - would rather resign first.
“Act believes we cannot afford to have a single politician influence such an important issue in this way,” Dr Brash said.
If elected, Act would push hard for a referendum to be held on the retirement age in the coming year, he said.
“We would negotiate for such a referendum to form part of our confidence and supply agreement with National in the upcoming government."
The referendum question could be very simple, he said, for example: “Should New Zealand match Australia’s retirement age of 67 by 2023 by raising the age of eligibility six months every second year starting from 2017?”