By AUDREY YOUNG political reporter
Michael Cullen has seized the superannuation olive branch offered by Jenny Shipley at the weekend and lashed her with it.
Mrs Shipley said National would come to multiparty talks with a pledge to guarantee present superannuitants no cuts and the security they deserved.
Mrs Shipley told the party conference in Christchurch that both Labour and National had lost the confidence of the elderly.
"Labour let down seniors in the 80s by acting unilaterally. National let down seniors in the 90s by doing the same."
She said present pensioners should have no change to the age of entitlement of 65, the minimum benefit of 65 per cent of the average wage, and the annual cost-of-living adjustment.
But she did not convince Dr Cullen, the Minister of Finance.
"Tell us the whole truth, Mrs Shipley," he said in response. Half-truths are as bad as making it up. The promise means nothing. The issue is not the present cost of the scheme. Everyone knows that is affordable. The issue is how to handle the costs of supporting the large baby-boom generation in their retirement.
"We'll ... discuss superannuation with National when National is prepared to be straight with us and the ... public about its real intentions."If it rejected pre-funding, would it raise the age, impose means or assets tests or increase taxes? he asked.
Dr Cullen accused National of already having rejected a pre-funding approach.
National's finance spokesman, Bill English, said yesterday that nothing had been ruled out.
"The Labour or Alliance caucuses may not be aware that [pre-funding] rules out any significant increase in Government expenditure for decades because it requires a surplus of $3 billion to $3.5 billion every year to do it.
"It locks in current expenditure and tax structures for along time," he said.
"We would be signing up to putting future Governments in a fiscal straitjacket, which the current Government would be unwilling to wear."
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.
Latest from New Zealand
Copyright expert says Winston Peters is wrong about use of Chumbawamba song
Lawyer Earl Gray told the Herald copyright law still applied to Winston Peters.