Greens Superannuation Fund to Sell Houses

The Green MPs’ superannuation fund will sell its two properties to give the public maximum clarity about the use of Parliamentary housing allowances, Green Party Co-Leader Metiria Turei announced today.

“For years the Fund has invested in Wellington properties as part of MPs’ savings for retirement and the rents have been at market rates so it has not cost the taxpayer anything extra,” said Mrs Turei.

“But there’s now a lot of confusion around MPs’ allowances and expenses and we need to take decisive and clear steps so there’s absolutely no doubt about the actions or intention of our MPs.”

The scheme, joined by most but not all, Green MPs, has bought four rental properties in Wellington over the last 12 years and the houses and apartments have usually been rented by the Party’s own MPs. The superannuation fund has always been public and was approved by Parliamentary Services and the Clerk of the House. The Green Party will now sell its two remaining properties, an apartment on the Terrace and a small house in Thorndon.

“We have consistently called for a full, independent review of expenses and allowances for MPs to give the public more confidence in their representatives,” said Mrs Turei. “Underlying the confusion there are some complicated issues that we can’t work through with soundbites.

“This fund, for example, has not cost the taxpayer anything extra while MPs have saved for retirement; do we want to rule out such arrangements altogether or can we do more to make sure they work appropriately? This is a judgement that the public and an independent body should make.”

Mrs Turei said the four months this year when two MPs mistakenly both paid full rent on one property instead of sharing the cost was fixed in June and the extra money paid back this month, and while it was a genuine error it had contributed to the confusion.

“We’re disappointed that we made a mistake and frustrated with ourselves that we were slow to correct it. Nothing like that has happened before and we let ourselves down. I’ve personally gone through the full history of the Fund and confirmed this was a one-off mistake.

“We’re committed to transparency, but don’t claim to be perfect. We’re glad we’ve led Parliament into greater disclosure of MPs expenses and knew our own mistake was going to be on the public record when we made our voluntary move in June.”

The Green Party established its small, independent superannuation plan in 1997 when it first came into Parliament and at a time when there were no ethical investment funds in New Zealand. The retirement fund even drew praise from the business press as an innovative, do-it-yourself plan, but, Mrs Turei noted, the climate had changed in the ensuing decade.

“Parliament needs to initiate a full independent review. Until that’s done, we’ll still have the climate of suspicion that’s developed and that makes our current arrangements a distraction. We’re moving to remove that particular distraction, but there’s a broader issue for Parliament to consider as well.”

The Green Party’s out-of-town MPs would still need to rent Wellington accommodation, Mrs Turei said, but would do so on an individual basis.