Budget 2026
Willis: There is 'more to come' on Superannuation
In a Q+A session after her speech at the ANZ breakfast, Willis fielded a handful of questions from the business attendees.
Asked about superannuation after it was a stark omission from the Budget, Willis indicated on Friday morning there was more to come in this space.
"It would be wiser for politicians to have a discussion now about gradual small changes that we could make, to make it more affordable and sustainable into the future, than to pretend it's never ever going to have to change.
"I just don't think that's a realistic position," she said.
"As a National party we will go into the election campaign with a policy on superannuation with a goal of keeping it universal, affordable, sustainable."
She also used the question to spruik the Government's move to increase minimum KiwiSaver contributions to 4%.
But superannuation had been a key issue from Budget Day after NZ First leader Winston Peters had backed senior MP Shane Jones' suggestion that Willis was "unprofessional" when she raised with journalists the lack of reform in this space.
"She was doing very fine until then," Peters said on Thursday. "But why would you raise that when it wasn't in the Budget? Why would you raise what's not in the Budget? You're there to tell the media and journalists what's in the Budget, not what's not."
Willis responded on Friday directly to the comment by Peters, saying, "the rising super bill is part of the context of putting together a Budget, and I think it's appropriate to share that."
Asked about the Wellington economy and public sector cuts, she said:
"We are a city that's not just about a public sector, there is a private sector too," Willis said, listing a number of big name businesses in the city, Xero and Hnry, for example.
But on the job cuts, "we have signalled we want the public service to get more value for money", Willis said, noting "in Wellington's case we will continue to have a very significant number of people employed in the public sector."
She also pointed to significant rates costs in Wellington, and that local economy struggles could also be attributed to council activity.
"My view has been very candid, Wellington needs to get its spending under control," she said. "That's why there's a rates cap policy."
But superannuation had been a key issue from Budget Day after NZ First leader Winston Peters had backed senior MP Shane Jones' suggestion that Willis was "unprofessional" when she raised with journalists the lack of reform in this space.
"She was doing very fine until then," Peters said on Thursday. "But why would you raise that when it wasn't in the Budget? Why would you raise what's not in the Budget? You're there to tell the media and journalists what's in the Budget, not what's not."
Willis responded on Friday directly to the comment by Peters, saying, "the rising super bill is part of the context of putting together a Budget, and I think it's appropriate to share that."
Asked about the Wellington economy and public sector cuts, she said:
"We are a city that's not just about a public sector, there is a private sector too," Willis said, listing a number of big name businesses in the city, Xero and Hnry, for example.
But on the job cuts, "we have signalled we want the public service to get more value for money", Willis said, noting "in Wellington's case we will continue to have a very significant number of people employed in the public sector."
She also pointed to significant rates costs in Wellington, and that local economy struggles could also be attributed to council activity.
"My view has been very candid, Wellington needs to get its spending under control," she said. "That's why there's a rates cap policy."