Key proposes to invest 40% of the National Super Fund (Cullen Fund) in NZ infrastructure sounds good till you think about it. If the money is invested in Public roads and other infrastructure such as broadband then who pays the interest on the investment? It seems all too obvious that the tax payer does. Is this a deceptive way of spending the National Super Fund while seeming to maintain what was a popular and necessary initiative of the Labour government? Even of the fund helps to provide public private partnership toll roads there is still a “pay twice” feel about the whole thing.
Consider the present situation where the money is invested overseas. The company that benefits from the investment pay the interest thus compounding the money that has been put into the National Super fund. There is already a proportion of the fund invested in New Zealand but to mandate 40% of the fund to be invested in NZ infrastructure would strongly suggest that the whole “idea/policy” needs a lot more consideration and or needs to be scrapped.
