Families with children are expected to be the main benefactors of the Government's new mini-budget.
The Labour-led Government released its Budget Policy Statement today.
Finance Minister Grant Robertson says the agenda aims to build a sustainable and productive economy that shares the benefits of prosperity with all New Zealanders.
'We will fix New Zealand's social and infrastructure deficits by investing in families, education, health, housing and our regions."
Grant says the BPS and the Treasury's Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update show the Government can deliver on its promises, while running sustainable surpluses and paying down debt.
'We can meet all of our commitments within our Budget Responsibility Rules. These commitments include our 100-Day Plan; Labour's other policies in the pre-election Fiscal Plan; the Coalition Agreement between Labour and New Zealand First; and the Confidence and Supply Agreement between Labour and the Green Party.
'The Treasury's Half Year Update incorporates the costs of our 100-Day Plan. The BPS indicates how policies outside this will be afforded within the capital and operating expenditures allowed in future Budgets. Over the next four years, allowances for policies outside of the 100-Day Plan provide $21.7 billion in new operating expenditure, and capital allowances provide for $12.6 billion of new investments.
'Today we are announcing the full details of the Government's Families Package. This is paid for by rejecting National's tax cuts and instead targeting spending at those who need it most. It will lift 88,000 children out of poverty by 2021."
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
- The new Government's mini-budget will deliver serious financial gains to families with children, particularly poorer ones.
- The Government estimates the poorest 385,000 families with children will receive an extra $75 per week, from its families package.
- A further 365,000 can expect an extra $39 a week and another 650,000 families will gain about $14 a week extra to their wallets.
- About 1m people - including all superannuitants - will be eligible for a "Winter Energy Payment" of up to $450 a year, cash in hand.
- Families with new babies will receive $60 a week for the first year of the child's life, and for a futher two years if they are on modest or low incomes.
- The entire family package will cost $5.53b over the next five years. This amount is more than made up for by cancelling the planned tax cuts.
- The three-way Government is planning $21.7b of new expenditure over the next four years.
- That includes a $2b capital injection for the KiwiBuild Programme, intended to build 100,000 houses over 10 years.
- The economic outlook until 2022 is fairly rosy with growth estimated to stay the same with unemployment falling to four per cent.
7 comments
At Last
Posted on 14-12-2017 13:26 | By Merlin
At last a government that cares for all people and is prepared to help the elderly in winter and those whose wages have been screwed under the previous while those at the top increased the gap by larger wage increases at the expense of those who help produce their profits.
At Last
Posted on 14-12-2017 13:27 | By Merlin
At last a government that cares for all people and is prepared to help the elderly in winter and those whose wages have been screwed under the previous while those at the top increased the gap by larger wage increases at the expense of those who help produce their profits.
Scarey
Posted on 14-12-2017 13:52 | By overit
I dont mind if low income families get a help up, but there should be some investigation into need, spending, budgetting. Giving good money to people that buy takeaways all the time, smoke, gamble,drink is not productive.
Taking money from superannuitants
Posted on 14-12-2017 14:57 | By Ron
The super is paid out at the rate of 66% of the after tax median wage. From April 1st 2018 the avergae wage earner was going to get an extra $1060 in the wages until Labour raised the taxes through repealing that law. That meant that Superannuitants would have received close to $700. Instead that income has been slashed to $450 PROVIDED that they complete a whole lot of paperwork. Who is going to do that? Those who are literate and have the skills and confidence to get on line or go into WINZ. The least able will miss out. In addition there will be a new army of administrators to deal with the paperwork. That is where that missing $150 will go.
Taxed to death
Posted on 14-12-2017 15:24 | By Captain Sensible
As usual, the people who pay the most get next to nothing back. Both Lab & Nat guilty of this. As for hard working couples with no kids....just give all your money to the govt for them to redistribute as they, with their socialist principles, see fit.
Spending up large
Posted on 14-12-2017 23:41 | By MISS ADVENTURE
Means that there is more debt or more taxes as it has to come from somewhere? I dont think this lot can do the Math, repaying $2bn debt a year and borrowing $10bn means the debt will increase by $8bn and cant be called meaningfully "debt repayment". That is a complete deillusional dream world for sure.
Yep more tax...
Posted on 15-12-2017 07:37 | By Christine1965
My husband and I work 60 hrs plus each week. Yes we receive an income >120K between us, but we work bloody hard for it. Makes us angry that we have to prop so many others up who smoke,drink,gamble, and reproduce like rabbits our hard earned money away. I hope some restraint is used in handing out my tax but probably not.
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