Listening to the TV3 News on Monday March 13th, and the annual increases announcement to benefits and NZ Super.
Amelia Wade political presenter , appears with very emotive comments (twice made) emphasising that the Super Expensive NZ Superannuation scheme receipt ants were having an increase.
Unbalanced, inaccurate comment and the personal view of a commentator who should be introducing the topic in a more neutral manner, needs to be challenged.
I have made a formal complaint as below, it will take a few weeks to make its way through the system.
To many presenters appear to be putting their own twist on issues, when presenting news items, and when the news allows such reporting we all suffer from the inaccurate and misleading comments. Evidence based and objectivity training required here, so commentators can present the news in a “balanced manner”!
Reporter Amelia Wade, made the statement in relation to the annual increase to NZ Superannuation payments: Super Expensive NZ Super scheme, emphasising that fact as a headline comment on two occasions.
The New Zealand Super scheme is one of the least expensive schemes in the OECD countries, subject unlike most others to be declared as income by the receipt ant. It is misinformation and unbalanced to represent the cost for NZ Super in this way, showing bias, lack of understanding and inaccuracy. The “emphasis” Super Expensive NZ Super scheme, illustrates completely the lack of balance.
Reporting annual increases to the scheme, in line with annual inflation, does not require emotive headline comment .
Verification of my comments
As Susan St John and Clare Dale in their 2016 paper said “The projected NZS expenditure appears modest, especially if net rather than gross spending is counted, and when compared to current pension spending in other countries.”
As Michael Little wood NZ foremost research commentator on NZ Super in a 2013 paper said “New Zealand Superannuation (NZS) is one of the simplest, most effective, and most cost-effective Tier 1 schemes in the developed world. We mess with it at our peril”
Martin Hawes said “NZ Super is a system so simple and cheap that we need to give people certainty and stop playing football with it” Little wood repeated his comment in 2018.