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Home / New Zealand

Budget 2020: Budget at a glance - the big Covid 19 package and how hard has it hit

NZ Herald
14 May, 2020 02:00 AM4 mins to read

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Budget 2020 Live Special: The Government will borrow an extra $50 billion in the June 2021 fiscal year to mitigate the hit from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Finance Minister Grant Robertson has delivered his third Budget this afternoon.

Here are the details at a glance.

The big Covid-19 deal

Robertson announced $50 billion more for the Covid-19 response plan. About $16 billion of that is a jobs package, including a further wage subsidies package and infrastructure boost.

The package is estimated to save 140,000 jobs over two years, and create more than 370,000 new jobs.

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It takes total Covid-19-related spending to $62.1 billion. About $20 billion remains in the kitty for future use.

The $15.9 billion jobs and business package

• $4 billion in business support – including a $3.2 billion extension to the Wage Subsidy Scheme for another eight weeks for companies which show more than 50 per cent monthly revenue drop compared to last year.

• $3 billion more for infrastructure, including building 8000 state and social houses.

• $1.6 billion free trades training and apprentice package. Vocational courses in "critical industries" will be made free over the next two years to help people who have lost their jobs retrain.

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• $1 billion on environmental jobs.

• $400 million Tourism Recovery Fund – including a domestic tourism campaign. The package includes a programme that will provide advice and support for businesses to pivot towards the domestic and Australian market, hibernating a firm, or other options.

• $900 million for Māori, including training and employment and health measures. $195m for Pacific peoples.

Social services

More than $412 million will go towards social services - with $252.6 million going towards keeping Kiwis fed.

Discover more

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Budget 2020: School lunch programme boost to feed 200,000 every day

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• A major expansion of the school lunch programme will see $220.6 million added and about 200,000 children fed every day - up from 8000. The Government says tit will also create about 2000 jobs.

• About $32 million will go towards responding to the increasing demand for food banks.

• Almost $80 million will go towards social services to ensure they can continue to support people recover from the impact of the Covid-19 crisis.

• A $20 million hardship fund will go to help students through the next few months.

• $20 million will go toward addressing hardship in the struggling isolated fishing communities.

• As well as the 8000 new state and transitional homes, a $56 million fund will also allow low-income families in 9000 more homes to have their houses insulated and heated.

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• An additional $833 million will be invested over the next five years in disability support.

Other Budget measures

• $3.3 billion in new funding for health and education.

• $1.77 billion for the Defence Force, including $898 million for the Hercules replacement fleet and $666m for the Army, Navy and Air force for frontline capability, computer and communications technology and continued upgrades across NZDF bases.

• $1.2 billion for Kiwirail, including $400 million to replace its Interislander ferries and improve portside infrastructure.

• $280 million to be injected into New Zealand Post.

How bad is the hit?

Unemployment is forecast to peak at 9.6 per cent in September 2020, dropping to 4.2 per cent within two years.

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GDP growth rate goes to negative 4.6 per cent for 2019/2020 – and stays negative until June 2022.

Deficit balloons to $28.3 billion this year and $29.6 billion next year. It is forecast to track back towards surplus by 2028.

Net debt forecast to rise to 30.2 per cent of GDP this year and peak at 53.6 per cent in 2023 – up from 19 per cent in 2019.

Debts will rise from $58 billion in 2019 to $200 billion in 2024.

"This is the rainy day, put the umbrella up," Robertson said.

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