Budget 2026: PM backs Willis as superannuation debate dominates post-Budget mop-up
Friday, 29 May 2026
The prime minister didn’t kiss any babies, but he did greet one - and with Budget 2026 done and dusted, it might be a sign that the election campaign is now in full swing.
National has turned the heat up on its coalition partner NZ First over superannuation, with Christopher Luxon saying he expected a “debate” on the contentious issue in the run-up to polling day.
“I think it's highly appropriate for a finance minister to talk about a cost that we have coming as a country,” Luxon said on Friday.
It comes as National and NZ First jostle over the issue, after Winston Peters said it was inappropriate for superannuation to be raised in the Budget lock-up.
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On Thursday, Nicola Willis made a point of showing how much superannuation was already costing and how much more expensive it was expected to become if nothing changed.
But the remarks appeared to irk Peters, who told reporters the finance minister had made an “unfortunate mistake” by raising the issue of super.
'I don't know why she said it, because not only was it the wrong time to say it, but what she said was wrong,' he said on Thursday.
Luxon disagreed.
“Different parties will have different policies and different approaches to how to wrestle with superannuation. What we're saying is we are deeply, deeply committed to universal superannuation. So the question then is: how do we make it affordable and sustainable going forward?” he told The Post.
It’s clear that superannuation will be a core topic in the run-up to November’s election. Both National and ACT want to raise the superannuation age to 67, while NZ First - and Labour - are determined to maintain the status quo.
Luxon said National would present a “credible policy” on the issue to take to voters.
“I appreciate there's lots of different views, lots of different perspectives. I hope that in the conversation we can find some common ground across the Parliament on this.”
Asked how National and NZ First would be able to compromise on the issue, if the two parties again needed each other again to form a Government, Luxon said it was important to have the debate.
“We're just [saying], look, here's an issue when you look out the front windscreen of the car - we can see a bump in the road coming at us. We've got time to think deeply about how we might make sure it is sustainable and affordable.”
Willis, in a speech on Friday morning in Wellington, also reiterated National’s intention to campaign on changes to superannuation.
“If you want to have superannuation into the future, it's not really fair if the only way that's achieved is by vastly increasing taxes on working people,” she said.
Luxon was on Friday in his Botany electorate alongside fellow ministers Simeon Brown and Louise Upston, and National’s Catherine Wedd, to tout the Budget’s $34.4m investment in maternity care.
The new cash will increase maternity bed capacity and allow new mothers to stay in hospital or a primary maternity unit for up to three days after giving birth.
This will be phased in, with priority for first‑time mothers in the first two years and full access for all women by the end of year three.
Despite associate health minister Casey Costello, a NZ First MP, being quoted in the Government’s press release on the announcement - and the changes reflecting a commitment in the National-NZ First coalition agreement - all the MPs at Friday’s press conference were from the National Party.
That included backbencher Catherine Wedd, whose Three Day Postnatal Stay Amendment Bill has since been adopted by the Government.
The announcement was made outside the Botany Birthing Unit; a woman appeared to be in labour during the announcement and could be loudly heard for much of the press conference. It went unacknowledged, though the PM did stifle a smile at one point.
Health Minister Brown, who brought two of his young children to the announcement, said he knew how important the first days of parenthood were.
“We also know that when maternity services are under pressure, some mothers will feel rushed home before they're ready,” he said.
Asked how many more midwives and nurses will be needed to meet the increased demand for beds, Brown said Health NZ will put together an implementation plan for the next three-years.
“Importantly, they'll be looking at district by district what that capacity is currently and what that's needed to be to grow in order to meet that need,” said Brown, acknowledging that capacity currently differed between regions.