Speaker 1: Fielder.
Speaker 2: I'm Chelsea Daniels and this is a breaking news episode
Speaker 2: of the front Page, a daily podcast presented by the
Speaker 2: New Zealand Herald officially dubbed the Growth Budget unofficially the
Speaker 2: NOBS Budget. Finance Minister Nikola Willis has unveiled when New
Speaker 2: Zealand's dollars are going to be spent from the outset.
Speaker 2: She promised no frills or access, saying for months is
Speaker 2: very little left in the kitty.
Speaker 3: The economic outlook presented alongside this budget is a bright
Speaker 3: one after a tough few years. Growth, jobs and wages
Speaker 3: are set to rise. The government is not promising that
Speaker 3: today's budget will solve all New zealanders problems, but we
Speaker 3: do promise that the decisions we are taking now will
Speaker 3: sit our country up for a better future.
Speaker 2: So what's been announced today well a big change in
Speaker 2: key we Saver, with the Government announcing it'll be harving
Speaker 2: its yearly maximum contribution rates for key we Saver to
Speaker 2: two hundred and sixty dollars, down from five hundred and
Speaker 2: twenty one. It also won't be extending it to those
Speaker 2: earning more than one hundred and eighty thousand dollars a year.
Speaker 2: Default employer and employee contributions will rise from three to
Speaker 2: four percent, phased in over the next three years, although
Speaker 2: members can temporarily opt out, and sixteen and seventeen year
Speaker 2: olds will become eligible to receive a government contribution. There's
Speaker 2: also a new six point six billion dollar tax incentive
Speaker 2: for businesses, allowing twenty percent of a new assets value
Speaker 2: to be deducted from annual taxable income. This will apply
Speaker 2: to assets like machinery, tools and equipment, covering their value
Speaker 2: on top of normal depreciation, and is believed to increase
Speaker 2: our GDP by one percent. In total, there will be
Speaker 2: twenty one point four billion dollars in savings over the
Speaker 2: next four years.
Speaker 1: The majority of.
Speaker 2: That is made up of the twelve point eight billion
Speaker 2: dollars saved by the controversial changes made to the pay
Speaker 2: Equity scheme. There are two hundred and twenty eight spending
Speaker 2: initiatives as part of this budget, but here are some
Speaker 2: of the highlights. Looking at health, seven billion dollars will
Speaker 2: be spent on health over the next four years. People
Speaker 2: will now be able to go a year without having
Speaker 2: to go to the doctor to get a repeat prescription,
Speaker 2: up from the current maximum of three months. That will
Speaker 2: cost ninety one million dollars over the next four years
Speaker 2: and comes into effect in the first quarter of twenty
Speaker 2: twenty six. One billion will be invested in hospital facilities,
Speaker 2: including a new emergency department at Wellington Regional Hospital and
Speaker 2: a one hundred and twenty eight bed inpatient building in Nelson.
Speaker 1: Onto.
Speaker 2: Families Best Start will be income tested, diminishing four families
Speaker 2: with an income of seventy nine thousand dollars a year
Speaker 2: and cutting off entirely when a family earns more than
Speaker 2: ninety seven thousand dollars. The changes will affect families of
Speaker 2: children before April first next year. Those savings will see
Speaker 2: one hundred and forty two thousand families get an extra
Speaker 2: fourteen dollars a fortnight on average. Under Working for Families changes,
Speaker 2: the government is also changing the abatement threshold for eligible
Speaker 2: families from forty two thousand, seven hundred dollars to forty
Speaker 2: four thousand, nine hundred dollars and the rate from twenty
Speaker 2: seven percent to twenty seven point five percent.
Speaker 1: Let's look at education.
Speaker 2: A boost to learning support makes up a large portion
Speaker 2: of new education spending two point five billion dollars worth
Speaker 2: over the next four years. All primary schools will be
Speaker 2: funded for a learning support coordinator from twenty twenty eight.
Speaker 2: A new multi studies subject area is being introduced for
Speaker 2: years eleven to thirteen, and the government's also revealed it'll
Speaker 2: be looking domestically and overseas in its marketing campaign to
Speaker 2: bring in more teachers. Meanwhile, funding for private school subsidies
Speaker 2: will increase by eleven percent after staying the same for
Speaker 2: the last fifteen years.
Speaker 1: And now let's look at benefits.
Speaker 2: A big change to unemployment benefits, including job seeker cuts
Speaker 2: for teens. Many unemployed teenagers who do not study will
Speaker 2: not be eligible for the benefit from mid twenty twenty seven.
Speaker 2: The government says this group should be supported by their
Speaker 2: parents or guardians.
Speaker 1: Not the taxpayer.
Speaker 2: Eighteen and nineteen year olds who are unable to rely
Speaker 2: on parental support will be eligible for the money. So
Speaker 2: much of what was included in today's budget has been
Speaker 2: announced over the last month by the government. Here are
Speaker 2: just some of those headline figures. More than two billion
Speaker 2: dollars was announced to replace the Defense Force's aging fleet
Speaker 2: of maritime helicopters, and a nine hundred and fifty seven
Speaker 2: million dollar boost over four years in defense, one hundred
Speaker 2: and forty million dollars to tackle student attendance, Nearly one
Speaker 2: hundred million dollars over the next four years to boost
Speaker 2: maths achievement in primary and intermediate schools.
Speaker 1: One hundred and sixty three.
Speaker 2: Million dollars over four years to expand and maintain urgent
Speaker 2: and after hours healthcare services nationwide. Five hundred and seventy
Speaker 2: seven million dollars over four years to support TV and
Speaker 2: film production. Six hundred million dollars in funding for improving
Speaker 2: rail reliability, upgrades and maintenance. Seven hundred and seventy four
Speaker 2: million dollars is allocated for the cases and improved redress
Speaker 2: for survivors of abusing care. Two hundred and seventy five
Speaker 2: million dollars over four years will overhaul social services, including
Speaker 2: one hundred and ninety million dollars for a Social Investment Fund.
Speaker 2: That fund will invest in at least twenty initiatives, including
Speaker 2: parental support and preventing vulnerable people from entering state care.
Speaker 2: An extra one point five million dollars has been committed
Speaker 2: annually to multi wardens, bringing government funding to two point
Speaker 2: seven million and thirty five million.
Speaker 1: Dollars over four years.
Speaker 2: Will go towards border protection to support sixty additional roles
Speaker 2: to tackle drug smuggling. That's it for this bonus budget
Speaker 2: episode of the Front Page. You can read more about
Speaker 2: today's stories and extensive news coverage at enzherld dot co
Speaker 2: dot nz. The Front Page is produced by Ethan Sills
Speaker 2: and Richard Martin, who.
Speaker 1: Is also a sound engineer. I'm Chelsea Daniels.
Speaker 2: Subscribe to the Front Page on iHeartRadio or wherever you
Speaker 2: get your podcasts, and tune in tomorrow as we'll be
Speaker 2: crunching the numbers with Herald Business Editor at Large Liam
Speaker 2: Dan