Goff coy on Labour's plans for KiwiSaver
If Labour were elected in November it would immediately can National's planned asset sales – although what it would do about changes to KiwiSaver and Working with Families is less clear.
If Labour were elected in November it would immediately can National's planned asset sales – although what it would do about changes to KiwiSaver and Working with Families is less clear.
If Labour were elected in November it would immediately can National's planned asset sales – although what it would do about changes to KiwiSaver and Working with Families is less clear.
Labour leader Phil Goff said this afternoon he questioned the wisdom of selling shares in four state-owned energy companies that returned 17.5% to taxpayers to pay off debt that was only attracting interest of 6%.
He said the party was totally opposed to selling assets.
“When the family silver is gone, what do you do then?
“What's their next plan after that. Sell the next assets?”
While Mr Goff said Labour would reverse plans to sell state-owned assets if elected in November, he did not promise to reverse changes, announced in yesterday's budget, to KiwiSaver and Working With Families.
“We're going to need to look at the wider picture and see what's possible,” he said, adding that Labour would look at how much money was available to it before it considered what approach it might take.
It would then prioritise its goals and aspirations to see what could be achieved in the first 12 months, followed by what was more likely in the first term, before it decided on what would have to wait longer.
Mr Goff said he did not want to make an ad-hoc response today, without considering all the necessary information.
It was important that politicians only promised what was possible, he said. National had broken so many promises during its first term, Mr Goff said, that he did not believe the claims that the budget would deliver 4% growth and 170,000 jobs.
The budget showed that the National government had no firm idea on how to create jobs, he said.
Labour would take a three-pronged approach to job creation, Mr Goff said.
Firstly, it would put in place a plan for upskilling and training people. Secondly, it would put more money towards research and development, to promote innovation and the “smart economy”. Lastly, it would introduce monetary policies that promoted the productive sector.