News & Achievements

Our strong economic management prior to COVID-19 - with surpluses, low debt and near-record-low unemployment - put us in a good position to weather the impact of the virus and start to rebuild our economy much earlier than many other countries.

Now we're putting our plan to recover and rebuild into action: helping Kiwi businesses take on apprentices, fast-tracking infrastructure, and building new international trade relationships.

Our 2020 General Election Party List shows that the Labour Party is bolstering our experienced Caucus with diverse new talent as New Zealand rebuilds and recovers from COVID-19.

With no active COVID-19 cases in New Zealand, it's clear our plan to eliminate the virus is working. The opportunity now is to keep building on that success: getting people back into work, investing in businesses and industries, and setting New Zealand up to bounce back stronger, faster, and better than ever.  

We started the week by announcing free apprenticeships to support Kiwis into work and to help get New Zealand moving again - and we ended the week by extending the wage subsidy to 40,000 more businesses, helping to protect businesses and workers alike. 

We’re confident in the ability of Kiwi businesses to succeed in the face of COVID-19, and our Government is committed to doing our bit to enable that success. Kiwi businesses have always been innovative and resilient, and the COVID-19 pandemic has proven this yet again. 

It's been a busy seven days as we start to rebuild New Zealand together. From delivering extra support for small businesses, to investing in our artists and arts organisations, to cutting red tape on home DIY projects, we're rolling out our plan to get the economy and New Zealand moving again.

Budget 2020 is about rebuilding together, supporting jobs, getting business moving and the books back into the black. It’s an integral part of our COVID-19 economic response, and our plan to grow our economy and get New Zealand moving again.

Here’s a quick look at the five top things you need to know from this year’s Budget:

This year’s Budget is about rebuilding New Zealand together in the face of COVID-19. Jobs are central to how we’re going to do that. There’s a lot of targeted investment for employment in this year’s Budget, with announcements on creating new jobs, training people for the jobs we have, and supporting people to keep their jobs or get into work.

Read Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's Budget 2020 Speech.