Emily Henderson: Budget 2021 sets Whangārei up for stronger recovery from Covid-19

Ruakaka Primary lunch programme manager Janelle Walding shows principal Marilyn Dunn, teacher Emma States and deputy principal Jo Irvine the delicious blueberry muffins on Monday's menu last week. Photo / Supplied

FROM PARLIAMENT

Opinion

There's many firsts for a new MP but the first Budget Day is big (first Budget Lockup; first cheese roll). This year's Budget, however, turned out to be particularly special, with even experienced politicians and commentators using words like "transformative".

At its core, this Budget is about securing our recovery from Covid-19, but we see our future not just in growing GDP and keeping down debt, but in laying the foundations for a stronger future by tackling long-term challenges such as housing, child wellbeing and climate change.

As we continue to respond to the uncertainty Covid has thrown our way, we need to keep on managing our economy responsibly (and no one does that better than Grant Robertson), but our recovery plan must also prioritise people's wellbeing. In fact, we think that's a key part of future economic prosperity.

So, we're taking a balanced approach that will create jobs, grow the economy and keep a lid on debt, while tackling long-term issues like child poverty.

One of the Budget's key initiatives, and one I'm most proud of, is a major increase to main benefits, especially targeting families with children.

We're raising benefits by $32 to $55 a week, in line with the Welfare Expert Advisory Group's recommendations. This money will help families put food on the table, buy shoes for kids, and heat their homes, and ultimately, help lift up to 33,000 children out of poverty.

Direct action targeting whanau in need has an immediate impact on children's wellbeing. Just check out the free school lunch programme. Teachers around town describe children concentrating better on learning, and parents tell me about the relief for their weekly budgets, not to mention the wonderful stories from those who now have jobs making the lunches.

Benefit increases won't just support needy Kiwi families, they bolster our economic recovery. That's why NorthChamber supported the news. Most of that money will be spent locally, in local shops buying things people badly need but could not afford before. This is what the PM means when she says the initiatives do "double duty."

Another way we're making government money go further is by continuing to upgrade our infrastructure. Budget 2021 includes a record $57.3 billion investment in infrastructure over five years. This not only addresses the crisis of long-term underinvestment, ensuring we have the hospitals, houses, schools and transport networks needed for the future, but creates jobs building them.

In fact Treasury forecasts show more than 220,000 people will enter work, and unemployment will drop to 4.2 per cent over the next four years, as we continue our recovery.

One crucial bit of infrastructure concerning many in Whangārei is our health system. Last year's Labour government had already funded the first major new facilities for Whangārei hospital in many years, including the endoscopy suite, operating theatres, and cardiac catheter laboratory, just opened by Minister Andrew Little.

I'm looking forward to the next stage, expanding maternity facilities, also funded in last year's Budget, and I will keep pushing for further progress. There's a long way to go to rebuild, but we are already off to a good start.

Our government is committed to a recovery that supports all New Zealanders, that ensures our finances remain sustainable and that tackles the long-standing challenges you elected us to address. With Budget 2021, we're getting on with the job.

There's a lot in the Budget so if you're interested in learning more, or have questions (or a recipe for cheese rolls), join me at one of our post-Budget events (details on my Facebook page).

• Emily Henderson is the electorate MP for Whangārei. She can be contacted at Emily.HendersonMP@parliament.govt.nz