Kiwis would then be able to manage their retirement age and lifestyle – choices they currently do not have – and it would be cost neutral with the current scheme.

 Each year below 65 that superannuation would be claimed down to 60, would see a small reduction, and each year over 65 up to 70, it would be enhanced.

The final figures used would make it cost-neutral with the superannuation scheme as it stands, with the long term sustainability issue addressed by having compulsory KiwiSaver.

 The sustainability arguments around superannuation, and whether it should be 65 or 67, then become redundant.

 People can then do their own maths and work out what works best for them based on their lifestyle and aspirations.

 It is very simple. Our policy recognises that today people work and stay active for longer – and it is sustainable for New Zealand in the long term when connected to compulsory KiwiSaver, which frankly we need to do as a nation at some point.

Kiwis will have a working, sustainable and secured retirement future and that is what we need to be working towards.

 In the meantime, what we propose gives them choice about how they want to shape their lives in retirement and when they want to begin.

UnitedFuture will also:

• Amend the superannuation formula so it is calculated on forecast changes to the CPI and average wage increase for the following 12 months. (Currently adjustments are made after the event, creating a time lag that cheats superannuitants of their full entitlement. Any unforeseen changes to inflation or wages would be adjusted each April, in favour of superannuitants.)
• Exempt those who have themselves contributed to overseas pension schemes from the provisions of Section 70 of the Social Security Act, which currently deducts the amount of their overseas pension from their NZ Superannuation entitlement, thereby penalising them for having provided for their own retirement. Section 70 should only apply where an overseas pension has been fully funded from general tax revenues.

Income Sharing means that each partner in a relationship caring for children would be taxed on a 50% share of their combined income, resulting in a significant reduction in total income tax paid by the family.

Income sharing recognises the costs of raising a family, and in particular, those situations where one parent is either a full-time carer for their children or works part-time. For tax purposes, the income of both parents is combined and then divided equally, which can mean that they pay less tax since it is levied at a lower rate under our progressive taxation system.

Since the government subsidises childcare for those returning to paid work, it should also acknowledge the contribution of those who have decided to forego their income, in whole or in part, to stay at home with their children.

UnitedFuture has introduced legislation for an income sharing scheme for parents with dependent children up to the age of 18, in addition to Working for Families and other entitlements.

 Key Facts:

• The present tax system means that people who have no dependents pay exactly the same amount of tax as people with dependents.
• Couples who are self-employed in farming or business and retired couples are already able to split their income for tax purposes but this is not available for those on PAYE incomes.
• According to the 2006 census, there were 310,000 two-parent families with dependent children (children under the age of 18 years, living at home) and most of these would benefit from income sharing.

• Subsidise the power bills of over-65s by $50 per month for the three coldest months of the year – June, July and August – so our seniors can afford to keep warm

• A free ‘Warrant of Fitness’ annual health check for those over-65 to identify health problems and illness early
  

It is the decent thing to do in terms of how we treat the elderly in our country.

Times are tough, but if you cut too many corners you end up with a false economy – and a very harsh country.

 Each winter, on average an extra 3000 people a month are hospitalised at a cost to taxpayers of about $880 a day, and a great many of those people are elderly – that adds up to about $243 million in extra hospital costs each winter.

 We have got to stop just looking at the initial cost of schemes, and measure them against what they save in the longer term through people being healthier and not being in our hospitals, and frankly, not dying because they get cold and sick.

 We save cents and lose dollars. It is a false economy and we see it too often.

 Put that $243 million for increased winter hospitalisation up against our Winter Warmer policy cost of about $57 million to help keep a lot of elderly well, warm and out of hospital.

 Death rates also jump 18 percent over winter – many of them elderly.

The subsidy could be implemented by a rebate on the power bill to be claimed back by the power company.

The $25 cost of the annual Warrant of Fitness health check for each senior citizen would be tiny when balanced against the $880 a day hospital tab picked up by the taxpayer when conditions not got on to early are far more serious and far more expensive to treat.

The combined cost of the two policies if fully taken up by all senior citizens would be about $71.5 million – $57 million for the power bill subsidy and $14.5 million for the WOF annual health check.

 Given the benefits that would come from these policies, they would be extraordinarily economical.

To this point there has not been a proper national debate beyond National saying 'yes' and Labour saying 'no'.

We need a conversation that is more detailed and drills down into what New Zealanders really think are acceptable bottom lines.

New Zealanders are not definitively pro-asset sales, but under certain conditions, it is no longer the bogeyman issue that Labour would have you believe.

UnitedFuture’s role as a support partner is not just to contribute its own policies, but to help keep a government to a reasonable, centrist path.

UnitedFuture says let’s start with three no-go areas where there would be no asset sales, not now, not ever

Kiwibank, Radio New Zealand and the water supply should be ruled out of any future asset sales programmes

Kiwibank is in every sense now a national institution, whether you bank with it or not. And in a market full of Australian-owned banks, and an increasingly fraught and troubled globe, it is both a symbolic and practical statement of our economic sovereignty. Collectively, it is ours pure and simple. It must stay that way.

Radio New Zealand exists in an increasingly commercial media marketplace, and it is more important than ever to have a voice that does not bend to the dollar, to ratings, or to external forces. Every nation needs its own voice and we need to afford that voice our collective protection.

Water. UnitedFuture does not intend to wait until it is on the asset sales agenda. New Zealanders would never – or should never – accept a sell-off of the supply of the water, or any of the aspects around it.

In addition, with regard to Asset Sales, UnitedFuture will insist that:

- The New Zealand Government retains majority control (51%)

- Shareholding by private investors be capped at 15%

- New Zealand household investors are given preferential purchase right at time of issue.

Our key policies to achieve this are:

• Enshrining public access to all public resources, including game, waterways and coastline, in law.

• Establishing a robust National Environmental Standard for all freshwater waterways.

• Curtailing the application of 1080 poison and replacing it with new and more environmentally friendly forms of pest-control.

• Imposing a moratorium on new hydro and irrigation schemes for rivers without existing dams and still regarded to be ‘wild’.

• Prohibit heli-hunting, herding or hazing from helicopters except for legitimate animal management operations when numbers warrant it.
• Make sure the Game Animal Council Bill, currently before Parliament is passed, and the Game Animal Council is established as a statutory body.
• Work with the recreational fishing sector to establish a public consultation process regarding the future of inshore fisheries management. This will include whether a statutory management organisation 'run by fishers for fishers' should be established.

Mr Dunne, who has been a long-time campaigner for the retention and upgrading of the Johnsonville line, says having a definite start date for the Matangis is great news, and ensures the line's future for at least the next 30 to 40 years.

“Now they need to deliver. It has been chaos and shifting deadlines and empty promises thus far. They really need to deliver this time,” Mr Dunne said.

KiwiRail and the council announced morning peak hour buses would supplement train services on the Line until March 19 because of ongoing problems with the existing trains.

“Wellington commuters have had to be unbelievably patient for a long time now, and it is fair to say it has been an inauspicious start to 2012 for KiwiRail.

“There is no room for more failures,” Mr Dunne said.

“Media buy-in for such guidelines is crucial. This is the first time that media organisations have agreed to use a single, consistent set of guidelines.

“The fact that these have not been imposed from outside augurs well for their success,” Mr Dunne said in launching the resource today.

“We have deliberately steered away from a prescriptive, imposed-from-outside approach to get something that the media will work with,” he said, adding that he would like to see media outlets publishing the guidelines on their own websites.

“Media have agreed to these guidelines and they owe it to their readers, listeners and viewers to now transparently demonstrate their commitment.”

The guidelines have come out of roundtable meetings during this year chaired by Mr Dunne and involving the Chief Coroner Judge Neil MacLean, senior media representatives, mental health professionals, organisations working in suicide prevention, and government agencies. 

“The end result is a resource that all media can use to ensure a level of consistency and informed professionalism in how they approach reporting the very sensitive and complex issue of suicide.

“The guidelines are straightforward, accessible and designed to be useful to journalists working under tight deadline pressures,” Mr Dunne said.

He said he was pleased with the open and constructive debate from all quarters throughout the process.

‘There is a myth that we should not talk about suicide; that it is too sensitive, painful, difficult or dangerous to do so.

“However, people need to know that it is okay to talk about it.  It is how we talk about it that is important and this document helps advance that cause,” Mr Dunne said.

“The media play a critical role in making sure that any public conversation on suicide is informed and useful, and that it does not create further risk or harm,” he said.

The full guidelines can be found at: www.health.govt.nz/publication/reporting-suicide-resource-media

This brings to 20 the total number of substances now banned under Temporary Class Drug Notices, Mr Dunne said, in noting that it comes days after the head of the National Poisons Centre, Dr Leo Schep, said the centre was no longer receiving calls about synthetic cannabis.

“It’s yet more evidence that we actually have killed Kronic and its likes, and adding this latest substance to the banned list is just another nail in the coffin of synthetic cannabis substances,” Mr Dunne said.

The provisions in the Misuse of Drugs Act to issue such notices became law in August, and to date the notices issued have resulted in up to 50 products containing synthetic cannabis substances being banned from sale.

The notices are issued on substances rather than commercial products, meaning that the products that contain those substances effectively become banned.

The latest substance has been identified as the chemical AM-2233.

“I have been informed by the Ministry of Health that this chemical is understood to be present in a product called Tai High.”

Mr Dunne says today’s announcement means any product, containing this chemical, will be removed from shelves and no longer able to be sold over the internet in New Zealand.

The Temporary Class Drug Notice will come into force on 29 December, seven days after the notice is published in the New Zealand Gazette.  

The notices follow a law change which was introduced in August.  The provisions are a holding measure until permanent legislation can be developed next year to reverse the onus of proof so all such products must meet appropriate levels of safety before they can be approved and sold

Consultation arrangements

The Government will consult with United Future on issues including:

• The broad outline of the legislative programme
• Key legislative measures
• Major policy issues; and
• Broad budget parameters.

Consultation will occur in a timely fashion to ensure United Future views can be incorporated into final decision-making.

Formal consultation will be managed between the Prime Minister's Office and the Office of the Leader of United Future.

Other co-operation will include:

• Access to relevant Ministers
• Regular meetings between the Prime Minister and the United Future Leader
• Advance notification to the other party of significant announcements by either the Government or United Future; and
• Briefings by the Government on significant issues before any public announcement.

Ministerial Position

The Leader of United Future will be appointed to the positions of Minister of Revenue, Associate Minister of Health and Associate Minister of Conservation. These ministerial positions will be outside of Cabinet.

Policy Programme

The National-led government has agreed during this term of Parliament to adopt and implement the following broad principles, policies and priorities advanced by United Future:

• Passage of the Game Animal Council legislation currently before Parliament to establish the Council as a Statutory Body
• Reinstatement of the Income Sharing Bill currently before Parliament in the Government‘s upcoming reinstatement of legislation Motion
• Continued development  of the long term medicines strategy for quality use of pharmaceuticals in the health sector, Medicines New Zealand, including the enhanced role of Pharmacists in patient medicines management
• Reducing elective surgery waiting lists by greater utilisation of private hospital capacity, in a planned way, where this cannot be met by the public hospital system
• Investigate provision of a no-charge annual health-check up for over 65 year olds for implementation when fiscal circumstances allow
• There will be no sale of any part of Kiwibank or Radio New Zealand
• Introduce statutory limits on the sale of public assets to no more than 49% of shareholding to private interests including limits on the extent of single entity ownership
• Maintain at least current Budget funding tracks to TVNZ and Radio New Zealand to ensure they continue to fulfil their existing public broadcasting roles
• Support Public-Private partnerships for major roading infrastructure developments where these are deemed to be the preferred options regionally and nationally, in particular the Transmission Gully highway
• Put in place the necessary legislative provisions to cease guided helicopter hunting on the conservation estate involving the shooting of game animals from helicopters and the herding and hazing of game animals as part of the hunt, and the inequitable access provisions for guided helicopter hunting in wilderness areas
• The Families Commission will have two broad functions – the existing functions will be headed by a single Commissioner, and new monitoring, evaluation and research functions to drive quality services for families. In addition a Families Status Report will be developed to measure how New Zealand families are getting on, and government will re-direct $4m over four years to fund extra parenting programmes and relationship education in secondary schools
• Investigate cross agency co-operation for the further development of ‘Youth One Stop Shops’ support services
• Introduce pre-release assessments for all sentenced prisoners appearing before the Parole Board regarding their alcohol and/or drug dependency; and
• Maintain free public access to rivers, lakes, forests and coastline.

The government notes that United Future has been committed to its “Flexi-Superannuation” proposal as a key part of its retirement policy and agrees that a government discussion document investigating this issue will be developed.

The Government further notes that United Future has been committed to improving water quality in our lakes rivers and streams, in particular mitigating the impact of agrarian runoff on these waterways, and in ensuring quality standards and existing management of water supplies, and agrees that United Future will be consulted and involved in any initiatives concerning these issues.

The Government has identified the initiatives on National’s Post-Election Action Plan as priorities and United Future acknowledges the electoral support for this plan.  Accordingly, United Future agrees to support the legislation required to give effect to the plan, insofar as it is consistent with this agreement.

National will consult with United Future about the details of the legislation that it proposes, before its final decisions are taken. Where any points of difficulty arise, both parties agree to discuss these in good faith seeking a mutually-agreed resolution.

Briefings

It is agreed that the Leader of United Future will be briefed on significant issues which are likely to be politically sensitive before any public announcements are made.

Confidentiality

It is agreed that where briefings are provided to United Future, or where United Future is involved in a consultative arrangement with regard to legislation, policy or budgetary matters, all such discussions shall be confidential unless otherwise agreed.

In the event that government papers are provided to United Future in the course of consultation or briefings they shall be treated as confidential and shall not be released or the information used for any public purpose without the express agreement of the relevant Minister.

In the event that Cabinet or Cabinet committee papers are provided to United Future for the purposes of consultation they shall be provided to a designated person within the Office of the Leader who will take responsibility for ensuring they are accorded the appropriate degree of confidentiality.

Collective responsibility

United Future agrees to fully represent the government's position and be bound by Cabinet Manual provisions in respect of any areas within the portfolio responsibility of the Leader of United Future, and to support all areas which are matters of confidence and supply.

In other areas "agree to disagree" provisions will be applied as necessary.

Where there has been full participation in the development of a policy initiative outside of any portfolio responsibility held by the Leader of United Future, and that participation has led to an agreed position, it is expected that all parties to this agreement will publicly support the process and the outcome.

Cabinet Manual

United Future agrees to be bound by the Cabinet Manual in the exercise of Ministerial responsibilities and, in particular, agrees to be bound by the provisions in the Cabinet Manual on the conduct, public duty, and personal interests of Ministers.

Procedural Motions

United Future agrees that it will support the government on procedural motions in the House and in Select Committees, unless United Future has previously advised that such support is not forthcoming.

The Government agrees that it will operate a no surprises policy in terms of procedural motions it intends to put before the House or a Select Committee.

Select Committees

United Future and the Government will consult on the make-up and operation of select committees with a view to reaching an agreed majority position.

Legislative Programme

Support for particular legislative measures which do not relate to confidence or supply will be negotiated on a case-by-case basis.

Dated 5 December 2011

Rt Hon John Key                                                        Hon Peter Dunne
National Leader                                                          United Future Leader

“We are delighted with the very substantial and specific items we have negotiated with National and will be able to deliver in the next three years,” Mr Dunne said

Other key points in the agreement include:

• Placing the Income Sharing Bill currently before Parliament in the Government‘s reinstatement of legislation motion
• Continued development  of the long term medicines strategy
• Reducing elective surgery waiting lists with greater planned use of private hospital capacity where this cannot be met by the public hospital system
• Investigating free annual health checks for over 65s when fiscal circumstances allow
• No sale of any part of Kiwibank or Radio New Zealand and ensuring water quality standards and existing management of water supplies
• Maintaining at least current Budget funding tracks for TVNZ and Radio New Zealand to ensure they continue to fulfil their existing public broadcasting  roles
• Support public-private partnerships for major roading infrastructure developments (including Transmission Gully)
• Outlawing heli-hunting on the conservation estate
• Investigating cross-agency co-operation for developing and establishing ‘Youth One Stop Shops’ to offer support services for at-risk youth
• Introducing pre-release assessments for all sentenced prisoners appearing before the Parole Board regarding their alcohol and/or drug dependency
• Passing the Game Animal Council legislation currently before Parliament into law
• Maintaining free public access to rivers, lakes, forests and coastline;

Mr Dunne said he was delighted with the agreement.

“The term ‘commonsense’ comes to mind on all aspects of it.

“I believe New Zealanders will look at this agreement and see great value in many if not all of the items UnitedFuture has negotiated.

“They are practical and achievable and will benefit New Zealand and New Zealanders, from Flexi-Super to youth services ‘One Stop Shops’ to holding the line on how asset sales can be conducted, and much more.

“This is an excellent agreement and UnitedFuture is committed to playing a very positive part in a very positive and stable government for New Zealand over the next three years,” he said.

“Clauses agreed with Prime Minister John Key include commitments to pass the Game Animal Council Bill; suitably resolve the growing issue of heli-hunting, maintain free public access and ongoing involvement in issues concerning water quality,” Mr Dunne said.

Specific items in the agreement relating to outdoor recreation and conservation include:

• Passage of the Game Animal Council legislation currently before Parliament to establish the council as a statutory body.

• Put in place the necessary legislative provisions to cease guided helicopter hunting on the conservation estate, involving the shooting of game animals from helicopters and the herding and hazing of game animals as part of the hunt, and the inequitable access provisions for guided helicopter hunting in wilderness areas.

• Maintain free public access to rivers, lakes, forests and coastline.

• The Government further notes that UnitedFuture have been committed to improving water quality in our lakes rivers and streams, in particular mitigating the impact of agrarian runoff on these waterways, and in ensuring quality standards and existing management of water supplies, and agrees that UnitedFuture will be consulted and involved in any initiatives concerning these issues.

“I am delighted that UnitedFuture is able to deliver on its promise to protect New Zealand’s outdoor heritage,” Mr Dunne said.

“I am committed to getting the Game Animal Council Bill through first reading and on to select committee as soon as possible, maintaining free public access to rivers, lakes, forests and coastline, and dealing to the unethical, inhumane and unfair practice of heli-hunting.

“These are issues of high interest to the outdoors community and things that UnitedFuture resolved to do during the election campaign.”

“The quality of our freshwater is something that New Zealanders are rightfully concerned about.

“UnitedFuture is keen to maintain an involvement in this issue as we believe clean, unpolluted waterways are not only environmentally important but a fundamental human right.”

“Our ability to access and freely enjoy our unique natural environment is one of the defining characteristics of the Kiwi way of life, UnitedFuture has proved again that we are dedicated to protecting that,” Mr Dunne said.

Flexi-Super would allow New Zealanders to take superannuation at a reduced rate from 60, through to 65 on the current rate, or enhanced each year you wait up until 70.  It would be sustainable through making KiwiSaver compulsory.

“Essentially, it is about giving New Zealanders about when and how they retire and how they want their later years to be lived,” Mr Dunne said.

As part of its confidence and supply agreement with UnitedFuture, National has agreed to issue a Government discussion document to explore Flexi-Super.

“UnitedFuture is very pleased to have put superannuation firmly on the table for a national discussion because it really is an issue that we believe New Zealanders want to discuss and sort out for the long term,” he said.

“We know from the support for this policy on the election trail that New Zealanders want to know much more about it.”

Both National and UnitedFuture have ruled out lifting the basic age of eligibility for superannuation from 65 to 67.

“The cards are falling in a way that every seat could well count in bringing back a John Key-led government and UnitedFuture is a proven ally, and crucially,

“I am ahead in the only poll conducted in Ohariu by the same margin I won by in 2008.

“If National dips a point or two and is without a support partner, New Zealanders could face a Labour-Winston-Greens-Maori Party-Hone Harawira-Annette Sykes-John Minto catastrophe.

“That’s a nightmare scenario and the centre and centre-right need to ensure that they get the government they want, and that John Key has the moderating support he needs for the next three years.

“National needs me to win Ohariu to ensure the continuation of a moderate government.

“Act is anywhere from 10 to 15 points behind in Epsom depending on the poll and in real trouble, and even if it returns, can only pull National to the far right which Kiwis do not want,” he said.

“UnitedFuture will help keep National to the centre, and promote policies such as Flexi-Super, Income Sharing and an annual State of the Family report to hold government to,” Mr Dunne said.

“New Zealand has not had a statutory retirement age since 1993,” Mr Dunne said.

“It is more than a technical error on Dr Brash’s part – it is the kind of thinking that locks in the lack of choice, be it at 65 or 67, which underpins Act’s and other parties’ thinking on Super.

UnitedFuture’s sustainable Flexi-Super policy allowing New Zealanders to take their superannuation any time they want between 60 at a reduced rate, and enhanced each year they wait until 70, offers Kiwis one thing no other party is offering – choice.

“The beauty of our policy is that people can choose their time of retirement – not have the state tell them when to retire.

“We will be taking the Flexi-Super policy into post-election negotiations as a way forward for the country,” Mr Dunne said.

Flexi-Super would work with KiwiSaver being made compulsory, which almost all New Zealanders agree needs to happen, he said.

“This now makes a vote for UnitedFuture even more vital for any Wellingtonian wanting to make sure the road goes ahead,” Mr Dunne said.

“We have had communication from appalled Act members today saying they are switching parties on this issue, it is that fundamental to Wellington’s long term transport viability,” he said.

Act candidate Stephen Whittington today described Transmission Gully as a waste of money. As recently as September Act was in full support of the alternative access route in and out of Wellington.

“UnitedFuture says Transmission Gully is absolutely vital to Wellington, and through pushing it, and having made it a confidence and supply agreement issue with the last two governments, we now have it on the point of being delivered.

“The current Government rightly designated it a Road of National Significance and construction is now likely to begin by late 2015.

“Basically, with UnitedFuture backing a John Key-led government, it will happen. Act are now telling us they will oppose it.

“Wellington voters now know that a vote for Act is a vote for decades of increasing commuter log-jams in the capital, and a short-sighted crippling of the Wellington region,” Mr Dunne said.

He said he was getting a very positive overall response from the community, but was particularly taken by how interested people were in the Flexi-Super.

The policy would allow people to take superannuation anywhere from 60 at a reduced amount and progressively enhanced each through to 70 if people waited longer.

“I have been delighted with the response generally, but it is the sheer number who have come up to me and really wanted to know more about the Flexi-Super policy that has surprised me,” Mr Dunne said.

“I think giving people choice and control over how they live their later years is really striking a chord.

“When they see the potential for a sustainable Super scheme that allows them to live the way they want, they are impressed,” he said.

Mr Dunne said he thought the idea had real potential for take-up, given the open response it has received from other parties, including the Maori Party and Act in the recent small party’ leaders’ debate.

“A lot of people clearly like this idea – and it is completely achievable,” he said

“It is getting to the point of being unbelievable that this trivia is all the media cares about when New Zealanders are about to select a government to guide this country through the next three years in the midst of a global economy crisis.

“At worst, someone said something mean about Don Brash, and not nice about older voters who support Winston Peters.

“Are these really the biggest issues New Zealanders face right now?

“The media need to serve the New Zealand public here and get a sense of proportion, because they are rightly starting to get the blame for this ongoing fiasco from an increasingly frustrated public that would like to see the real issues facing this country debated.

“Phil Goff – the potential alternative Prime Minister – has not been in the news for a week now, and although I am not fighting his corner, it does show how ridiculous things are getting,” Mr Dunne said.

“Labour’s policy is fine and worthy but do re-publishing Hansard and broadcasting select committee meetings really deliver transparency when parties spending promises and the figures they base them on are so debateable,” said Mr Dunne.

“What the public want to know is whether or not they can fundamentally believe politicians when political parties disagree so obviously on policy costings.”

“This week I called for an independent panel of “number crunchers” to test parties’ policy costings going into each election.”

“An election campaign is when the public is most engaged with the political debate, meaning open government and transparent policy is more important than at any other stage of the electoral cycle.”

“Voters would be far better served by an independent examination of political parties spending promises than just fiddling around with the bureaucracy of Parliament,” said Mr Dunne

“What we have today is the major parties disagreeing on base numbers in launching their policies, so voters just end up confused and wondering who to believe.

“Voters would be well served by a panel of independent experts who can do the maths on each party’s numbers,” he said.

The panel could be formed three months prior to an election and consist of non-political and credible economic figures.

“The numbers and the panel’s conclusions should be made public and transparent,” Mr Dunne said.

“In launching any policy with economic or financial implications, each party should submit their costings and the numbers upon which they are basing their policy.

“If they refuse to do this, then the public would likely judge for themselves how credible or up-front the party is being and whether they have something to hide,” he said.

“The current smoke and mirrors with numbers and costings is not serving democracy or allowing voters to make the informed judgments that they should be able to expect to make,” Mr Dunne said.