Social Credit policy on nuclear ships

Press, 1 September 1980, Page 4

Social Credit policy on nuclear ships

A Social Credit government would not allow nu-clear-armed warships into I New Zealand ports except when strategic considerations required it for the immediate defence of New Zealand from external aggression. according to a remit passed at the Social Credit conference at Lincoln yesterday. On the labour front, the! conference decided that unemployed married persons who are the principal income earners will be paid accord-’ ing to the award rate of their{ last employment for a maxi-j mum period of three months; and thereafter as other social, welfare beneficiaries. Proposals to revamp the! league’s superannuation pol-i icy were discussed at great! length before it was decided;' to pass the remits back to { the policy committee for fur-h ther study. I:

One remit wanted to replace National Superannuation with a "New Zealand superannuation" in which all earners, as a condition of a guaranteed minimum of income. would be required to invest a proportion of their current income in a superannuation scheme of their i choice or a convertible; whole-of-life insurance pol-l icy. Those who failed to: nominate their own scheme; would be required to con-i tribute to the National Provi-! ■ dent Fund. The policy committee will; decide on the matter in Feb-i ruary, in time for the party’s! new election manifesto which will be introduced in ’ June next year. Another remit passed back; proposed to guarantee to maintain and protect National Superannuation payments for married superannuitants at 80 per cent of the average, ordinary time net wage, and for single superannuitants at

: 60 per cent of the married rate, from age 65. For those who chose to • retire at 60, an income-tested I retirement benefit would be ! paid until eligibility to receive National Superannuation was reached. The conference decided . that trainee teachers should 'be made to do a course in [Maori studies. i Another education remit — that undergraduates should receive the same grants as other tertiary students and that post-graduate trainees should receive salaries — was defeated. It was agreed that because export freezing works have become so expensive, a flexible minimum price system would be introduced to encourage an extended killing season and better use of freezing works. Farmers would be guaranteed a reasonable return for holding ' stock beyond normal killing periods.