Super savings ministry needed

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Monday, September 18th 2000, 11:27PM

A common ailment of Government is often that the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. (This could be argued other ways depending on one's political allegiances. One side may argue both hands are idle, while the other reckons the Government should have no hands!).

The point of this observation is that communication between parts of a large organisation like the Government can be poor, therefore we end up with a situation where nothing gets done or one department, unwittingly, works against another.

Cases of this sort of thing happening aren't unusual. The ones we often hear about have to do with social welfare.

Sticking with social issues it's worth pointing out that there are many parts of the Government which operate in the superannuation/retirement savings area, yet they seem to come under a raft of different ministers. For instance:

• The Office of the Retirement Commissioner reports to Social Services minister Steve Maharey
• The Government Actuary reports to Commerce Minister Paul Swain
• Finance Minister Michael Cullen is responsible for the Government Superannuation Fund and the Inland Revenue Department in his roles as the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Revenue
• Lianne Dalziel is the minister for Senior Citizens. (This ministry was, under the previous Government, responsible for the Superannuation Accord).

Retirement income issues are interwoven between all this ministries and one has to ask how often do these ministers talk to each other about the issues?

In some cases it could also be asked whether or not the retirement income portions of particular ministers' portfolios have even come onto their radar since they won the election.

Superannuation and retirement issues are a major area the Government needs to focus on. There needs to be significant policy development and it is clear that some of the organisations mentioned above can contribute positively in this area.

For instance the Office of the Retirement Commissioner currently plays no role in policy development.

Likewise, the Government Actuary has plenty to say about employer sponsored savings schemes, which in many countries are a cornerstone of retirement savings regimes, yet he can't get the minister's ear.

Surely, if the Government really wants to advance sensible retirement income policy for New Zealanders it needs to have a co-ordinated approach and it needs to listen to the groups that know and understand the issues.

The parts of Government that operate in this area need to be brought together under one roof to help forge a path ahead.

The worst thing that can happen is that poorly thought through policies are pushed through Parliament without sufficient input from the experts.

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