Billions of dollars are spent on our benefit system every year. And every election, politicians debate fiercely about where we should be cutting or increasing contributions to make the system fairer. 

This topic is incredibly fraught given that some of the population will invariably be unemployed or simply unable to work at any given point. And as we’ve seen with the Reserve Bank’s moves this year, it sometimes even better for the economy when more people are unemployed.     

Hanging over all this is the giant spectre of superannuation, which our major political parties are never as eager to talk about as other benefits.  

So how do we make sense of the numbers while also making sure our population is looked after properly? 

Today, NZ Herald deputy political editor Thomas Coughlan runs through what our main parties think about this issue – and whether there’s any hope of consensus across the political divide.

Host: Damien Venuto
Producer: Shaun D. Wilson
Executive Producer: Ethan Sills

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