No outright win if you're both wrong

Photo / Greg Bowker

The Prime Minister and the leader of the National Party were both wrong in a heated exchange on the KiwiSaver savings scheme during Tuesday's televised leaders' debate.

Helen Clark accused National of having a policy that would allow employers to dock their KiwiSaver employees' wages in order to fund the (compulsory) employer contribution to KiwiSaver.

John Key claimed that the reduction of the statutory minimum for the scheme from a four plus four scheme to two plus two - 2 per cent of wages matched by 2 per cent from the employer and 2 per cent from the Government - was exactly the same as what the unions had argued for at the KiwiSaver bill select committee.

But they are both wrong.

The unions argued for the two plus two - and three plus three - option as well as the four plus four, not instead of the four plus four. So Mr Key was wrong.

Helen Clark was also wrong but more technically so.

National announced changes to the scheme last week that would save $3 billion over three years and help to fund its tax cuts.

It also said it would repeal a bill passed in the last weeks of Parliament which rules out certain "arrangements" between employers and employees - such as the employers giving non-KiwiSaver employees pay rises equivalent to increases they might give to KiwiSaver employees.

The move enables employees to take a personal grievance if they are disadvantaged by being KiwiSaver members.

But National also said last week it would amend the KiwiSaver Act "to make it clear that no employee can have their gross taxable pay reduced as a consequence of joining KiwiSaver".

In that respect, Helen Clark was wrong when she said National was allowing employers to "dock pay".