As we have traversed before, anyone and everyone can petition Parliament to change the law. Once a petition is presented to the House the petitions committee will consider it and possibly hold public hearings on it, before reporting it back to Parliament along with a recommendation.
Not all petitions are created equal: among those which have closed for signatures recently are petitions to ban the gaming website Roblox, abolish income tax, add an AI member to the AI Expert Advisory Panel, put New Zealand’s dollar back on the gold standard and create a New Zealand autobahn.
That does not mean that starting a petition is a fruitless exercise, though.
Late last year Kaiapoi teenager Issie Mullen Winiata — a teenager in gainful employment — was mulling over something which rankled, and which to her seemed unfair.
At her — and every other — workplace, employees aged over 18 and who were in KiwiSaver were entitled to mandatory employer contributions to their KiwiSaver accounts.
However, employees aged 16 and 17 — of whom there are tens of thousands, especially in supermarkets and fast food outlets — were not.
Which, to Issie, seemed damned unjust. So she decided to complain about it ... and eventually ended up complaining about it to her local Waimakariri MP, Matt Doocey.
"She was clearly passionate about improving financial literacy among youth," Doocey said.
"Issie felt the system was unfair to young people and she had a valid argument."
Issie’s next step was to draft a petition, which closed on January 31 with 107 signatures. And before you scoff at what looks like a small number, the majority of petitions to Parliament have fewer signatures than that. Many, such as Joshua Perry’s petition for the government to build more infrastructure in Dunedin, are signed solely by the initiator.
Her accompanying written submission argued that KiwiSaver was used by young people, and that they were being excluded from the long-term benefits of employer-matched savings.
"Young workers are doing real work, paying tax and contributing to the economy," she said.
"Yet they are treated unequally when it comes to building financial security through KiwiSaver. This feels outdated, unfair and out of step with the values of equity and opportunity that New Zealand prides itself on."
Issie submitted that the law should be changed so that teenagers were not treated inequitably, encouraged to learn financial literacy and would be encouraged into good saving habits that would benefit them for life.
"By changing the law to include mandatory employer contributions for under-18s in KiwiSaver, Parliament would be sending a clear message: we value the work young people do, and we want them to have the same opportunities for a secure financial future."
The petitions committee reported back to Parliament on Issie’s petition last week, but the House did not need to heed its recommendation that it take note of the petition — it already had.
It should be noted that the exclusion for workers aged over 65 remains — there is also a considerable body of opinion which believes that age restriction should be done away with too.
But for now, Issie’s sense of injustice has earned her and all young workers the chance to earn KiwiSaver employer contributions.
"We trust that this change addresses the petitioner’s concerns," the committee’s report said.
"We thank Ms Mullen-Winiata for taking the time to petition Parliament."
So too, did Matt Doocey.
"I was proud of Issie’s commitment to this cause and it was great to see Issie’s change reflected in Budget 2025 so that young people who are working are able to save for their future just like the rest of us. We need to encourage first-time employees to adopt a good savings habit, so I want to congratulate and thank Issie for her hard work in this area."
Back by possibly popular demand
We haven’t done this for a while ... Southern MPs in incongruous surroundings or settings.
First up we have Act New Zealand Southland list MP Todd Stephenson, who seemingly is poised to contact the road cone hot line set up by his party’s deputy leader Brooke van Velden.
In fact, Stephenson was in Invercargill, fresh from the Southland Business Excellence Awards, and he had found a convenient prop to use for a video to mark the success of Traffic Management Services at the event.
Meanwhile, saying on the transport theme, Taieri and Dunedin Green list MPs Scott Willis and Francisco Hernandez have been on a roadie to Central this week and found a cycle lane, and cyclist, who they clearly approved of.
