NZ First to make Kiwisaver compulsory, buy BNZ back as Peters takes swipes at ‘neo-liberal’ twits

Sunday, 17 May 2026

NZ First has promised to make Kiwisaver compulsory for all New Zealanders.

Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters made the announcement on Sunday, adding that his party was proposing a buy back of BNZ bank.

Peters was in full flow, calling the Opposition “neo-liberal twits”.

New Zealand First will make Kiwisaver compulsory for all New Zealand citizens, include a $1000 cash injection from birth, and will buy back BNZ bank from Australia if elected.

Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters made the announcements at a public meeting in West Auckland on Sunday, and was in fine form before even talking about policy - as he took jabs at Labour, Chris Hipkins and the media.

“We are loaded with debt [thanks to] Hipkins and his crowd,” he told a laughing crowd.

“The world is more uncertain now than any time in the last 80 years…it is different. It has changed. Everything is more insecure. Our job is to get on top of it…to make sure we survive this experience and come out on top.'

Winston Peters told a meeting in Auckland NZ First was proposing to make Kiwisaver enrollment compulsory from birth and they would buy back BNZ Bank.

Peters said the biggest issues for New Zealanders were the cost of living, asset sales and superannuation. The left had missed the mark on these points, he added, and confirmed superannuation would not be affected if New Zealand First was in Government.

“These people are neoliberal twits,' he said of the left.

'Let us tell you right here, right now. No government with New Zealand First will be selling our assets,' Peter says.

'No government with New Zealand First will touch our seniors’ superannuation. There will no means testing, no eligibility age increase, no indexing.'

Then, in rounding off the speech, came the two big policy announcements.

New Zealand First would make KiwiSaver enrolment compulsory at birth, and there would be an automatic immediate Crown contribution of $1000 for New Zealand citizens only, Peters said.

“This will be the start of the nest egg for something that we will call the ‘KiwiSaver Generation’”.

New Zealand would also buy back BNZ bank from Australian ownership, Peters announced.

“Four Australian owned banks control around 85% of the system. They lend our deposits back to us at margins that are materially higher than those earned by their parent groups in Australia. Billions of dollars of profits a year that flow across the Tasman,” he said.

“New Zealand First will be proposing a buy-back of the Bank of New Zealand from National Australia Bank.”

It would be merged with Kiwibank to form the “National Bank of New Zealand”.

“New Zealand built BNZ. Labour and National sold it,” he said. Now we are going to buy it back.

“Every dollar of profit it makes will stay in this country, working for New Zealanders.”