Wednesday, 17 August 2022
Meet the JournalistsPremiumAucklandWellingtonCanterbury/South Island
CrimePoliticsHealthEducationEnvironment and ClimateNZ Herald FocusData journalismKāhu, Māori ContentPropertyWeather
Small BusinessOpinionPersonal FinanceEconomyBusiness TravelCapital Markets
Politics
Premium SportRugbyCommonwealth GamesCricketRacingNetballBoxingLeagueFootballSuper RugbyAthleticsBasketballMotorsportTennisCyclingGolfAmerican SportsHockeyUFC
NZH Local FocusThe Northern AdvocateThe Northland AgeThe AucklanderWaikato HeraldBay of Plenty TimesHawke's Bay TodayRotorua Daily PostWhanganui ChronicleStratford PressManawatu GuardianKapiti NewsHorowhenua ChronicleTe Awamutu Courier
Covid-19
Te Rito
Te Rito
OneRoof PropertyCommercial Property
Open JusticeVideoPodcastsTechnologyWorldOpinion
SpyTVMoviesBooksMusicCultureSideswipeCompetitions
Fashion & BeautyFood & DrinkRoyalsRelationshipsWellbeingPets & AnimalsVivaCanvasEat WellCompetitionsRestaurants & Menus
New Zealand TravelAustralia TravelInternational Travel
Our Green FutureRuralOneRoof Property
Career AdviceCorporate News
Driven MotoringPhotos
SudokuCodecrackerCrosswordsWordsearchDaily quizzes
Classifieds
KaitaiaWhangareiDargavilleAucklandThamesTaurangaHamiltonWhakataneRotoruaTokoroaTe KuitiTaumarunuiTaupoGisborneNew PlymouthNapierHastingsDannevirkeWhanganuiPalmerston NorthLevinParaparaumuMastertonWellingtonMotuekaNelsonBlenheimWestportReeftonKaikouraGreymouthHokitikaChristchurchAshburtonTimaruWanakaOamaruQueenstownDunedinGoreInvercargill
NZ HeraldThe Northern AdvocateThe Northland AgeThe AucklanderWaikato HeraldBay Of Plenty TimesRotorua Daily PostHawke's Bay TodayWhanganui ChronicleThe Stratford PressManawatu GuardianKapiti NewsHorowhenua ChronicleTe Awamutu CourierVivaEat WellOneRoofDriven MotoringThe CountryPhoto SalesNZ Herald InsightsWatchMeGrabOneiHeart RadioRestaurant Hub

Advertisement

Advertise with NZME.
New Zealand|Politics

Budget 2021: Government to spend $3.3 billion to lift up to 33,000 children out of poverty

20 May, 2021 02:00 AM5 minutes to read
NZ Herald brings you full Budget coverage as well as analysis, reaction and a look into what it all means for Kiwis. Video / NZ Herald

NZ Herald brings you full Budget coverage as well as analysis, reaction and a look into what it all means for Kiwis. Video / NZ Herald

Michael  Neilson
By
Michael Neilson

Michael Neilson is a senior political reporter for the New Zealand Herald

VIEW PROFILE
Budget 2021

Key points:

• Weekly benefit rates will be lifted by between $32 and $55 per adult by April 2022.

• Main benefits (including Jobseeker Support, Sole Parent Support, Supported Living Payment) will further increase to levels recommended by the Welfare Expert Advisory Group in 2019.

• Families and whānau with children get an additional top-up of $15 per adult a week.

Advertisement

Advertise with NZME.

• 109,000 families and whānau with children will, on average, receive $175 more a week from all changes made since 2017.

• Student support (allowances and loans) will increase by $25 per week on April 1, 2022.

The Government has announced a boost in benefits costing $3.3 billion over four years that it says will lift up to 33,000 children out of poverty.

As part of Budget 2021, the Government has included spending to increase all benefit rates by $20 from July 1 this year.

A second increase on April 1 next year will see main benefits having lifted overall between 22 and 40 per cent from 2017 levels, in line with a key Welfare Expert Advisory Group (WEAG) recommendation from 2019.

The Government projects between 19,000 and 33,000 children will be lifted out of poverty as a result, on the after housing-costs measure in 2022/23.

Related articles

New Zealand|Politics

Māori housing and child poverty initiatives likely to be biggest Budget winners

18 May 05:00 PM
New Zealand|Education

Kerre McIvor: 'Surely we can feed the most vulnerable of our family'

15 May 05:00 PM
Kahu

High housing costs remain factor in child poverty - reports

12 May 10:00 PM
New Zealand

Teuila Fuatai: Motels no cure for a housing emergency

11 May 05:00 PM

Families and whānau with children will also receive a further $15 per adult per week.
In total, weekly main benefit rates will increase by between $32 and $55 per adult by April 1, 2022.

This means 109,000 families and whānau with children will be, on average, $175 a week better off as a result of all the changes to income support since 2017, including the Families Package, the $25 lift to benefit rates as part of the initial Covid-19 response and the indexation of benefits to average wage increases in the last two years.

Advertisement

Advertise with NZME.

­"Increasing incomes for our most vulnerable both secures our recovery by adding targeted stimulus to the economy, while also addressing one of our most pressing long term challenges – child poverty," Prime Minister and Minister for Child Poverty Reduction Jacinda Ardern said.

"We are targeting investment where need is greatest; putting food on the table and helping with power bills in the homes that need it most."

Read More:
• Budget boost for beneficiaries: The Government's 'two-bird-one stone' Budget
• The Budget:10 things you need to know
• Live blog: Kiwis react to Budget 2021; what it means for you
• Govt expecting 'very sharp' drop in house price growth

Treasury estimates the $20 a year increase will cost about $440 million annually over four years, totalling about $1.77b.

The second benefit increase and student allowance increase is estimated to cost $1.65b over four years, with savings of about $100m expected.

The WEAG in 2019 made sweeping recommendations for urgent, radical changes including an immediate, significant lift to core benefits of up to 50 per cent.

Advertisement

Advertise with NZME.

Ahead of this week's Budget reports into child poverty showed little positive movement, with one in five children living in homes that sometimes ran out of food.

Advocates have been calling for strong action to lift core benefit levels, and there has also been high levels of public support - a survey released in February showing 69 per cent support for increased income support for the poor.

Minister for Social Development and Employment Carmel Sepuloni said these moves were meeting key recommendations of the WEAG.

Benefit increases since 2017. Photo / Supplied
Benefit increases since 2017. Photo / Supplied

Sepuloni said today's announcement meant by April 1 next year, 109,000 families and whānau with children would be, on average, better off by $40 per week and 263,000 individuals and couples without children better off by $42 per week.

"This includes 134,000 Māori and 33,000 Pacific peoples," Sepuloni said.
"It will also lift between 12,000 and 28,000 children out of poverty on the before housing-cost measure."

Combined with wider changes since 2017 meant around 372,000 individuals and families and whānau on benefits will be better off, on average, $114 per week by April 2022, increasing to $137 per week during the 2022 winter period, Sepuloni said.

Advertisement

Advertise with NZME.

"This has a flow-on effect for the local economy because we know that low-income people spend their money in the communities in which they live. Our vision is a welfare system that allows all New Zealanders to live with dignity and contribute to their communities, and today is a big step in the right direction."

Sepuloni has also announced Childcare Assistance income thresholds will be indexed to increases in the average wage, which she says will benefit 1000 families, or around 1500 children, from April 1 next year.

Treasury estimates this will cost about $13.3m over four years.

There will also be 3300 extra places in Out of School Care and Recreation Service helping about 900 low-income parents to remain, or transition, into employment, training and education, costing about $9m over four years.

"By indexing income thresholds for Childcare Assistance to average wage growth, we're supporting parents and caregivers to participate in the workforce," Sepuloni said.

The move was also in line with another recommendation of the WEAG, she said.

Advertisement

Advertise with NZME.

Student support is also lifting by $25 for allowances and living costs from 1 April next year.

Ardern said today's announcements would in the short term stimulate economic growth and reduce impacts of the Covid-19 downturn, while in the longer term reduce inequality.

"Under our plan we have already reduced the number of children living in poverty by 40,000.

"Today, we close a chapter on our past and take a big step towards our goal of making Aotearoa New Zealand the best place in the world to be a child.

"These changes sit alongside a raft of incentives to support people into training and work, including increasing support for child care, and reinstating the Training Incentive Allowance.

"We are also continuing to invest in critical services like health and education, social housing, and warm, dry homes."

Advertisement

Advertise with NZME.

Advertisement

Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

New ZealandUpdated

Te Arawa leader Sir Toby Curtis dies

16 Aug 10:25 PM
New Zealand

Armed police at scene of death on Auckland's North Shore

16 Aug 09:50 PM
New ZealandUpdated

Death on the mountain: 'Different decisions and she may have survived'

16 Aug 10:11 PM
New Zealand

Police confirm death of 7-year old boy in Wairoa

16 Aug 09:38 PM
New Zealand|Politics

John MacDonald: Jacinda Ardern - the part-time DJ dancing on a pin

16 Aug 09:21 PM

Most Popular

NZ's low literacy rate is bad news for the economy
Education

NZ's low literacy rate is bad news for the economy

16 Aug 08:12 PM
Chlöe Swarbrick: We can choose to rewrite the rules again
New Zealand|Politics

Chlöe Swarbrick: We can choose to rewrite the rules again

16 Aug 05:00 PM
Premium
Matt Heath: Life is short and the universe doesn't care, so make the most of it
Lifestyle

Matt Heath: Life is short and the universe doesn't care, so make the most of it

16 Aug 05:00 PM

Advertisement

Advertise with NZME.
About NZMEHelp & SupportContact UsSubscribe to NZ HeraldHouse Rules
Manage Your Print SubscriptionNZ Herald E-EditionAdvertise with NZMEBook Your AdPrivacy Policy
Terms of UseCompetition Terms & ConditionsSubscriptions Terms & Conditions
© Copyright 2022 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP