Features

With Budget 2022, we’re taking the next steps in our plan for a secure future. We’re supporting Kiwis with the cost of living, while building a strong economy that provides security in good times and in bad.

To ease the pressure on Kiwi families, we’re lifting incomes and increasing support for thousands of households.

From 1 April, we’re rolling out extra support for low and middle income families. This includes improvements to Working for Families that will see more than 340,000 families better off by an average of $20 per week, along with increases to the Family Tax Credit and Best Start, which helps parents with the costs of a newborn. We’ve also expanded Childcare Assistance, so more Kiwi families can access it.

To ease the cost of living, we’re putting more money into the pockets of older Kiwis.

People on Superannuation will see their incomes lift by $52 a fortnight for a single person and $80 for a couple from 1 April. Then, from 1 May, the Winter Energy Payment will kick in again, providing help with heating costs through the colder months.

We’re increasing support for students, as part of our work to ease the cost of living.

Both the Student Allowance and Student Loan Living Costs are increasing by $25 from 1 April, helping more than 100,000 students so they can focus on what’s important – their studies. We’re also boosting the minimum wage to $21.20 an hour, so people who work while they study can earn more each week.

We’re boosting incomes and reducing cost pressures for Kiwis, with a suite of changes coming into force on 1 April that will see the majority of New Zealand families better off.

The rising cost of living, driven by worldwide inflation and the war in Ukraine, is making things tough for many Kiwis right now. While there’s no easy fix, we’re taking a range of actions to ease the pressure – and our 1 April changes are the next step.

The Budget is the next step in our COVID response. It’s focused on securing our recovery while tackling long term challenges like child poverty, housing and climate change.

We’re taking action to tackle the housing crisis. We’ve set out the next steps in our plan to help more Kiwis into homes and ease pressure on the housing market.

Find out what Labour’s housing plan means for you.

As part of our plan to help more Kiwis into homes, we’re extending the bright-line test to 10 years. Here’s a quick explainer on what that actually means, and how it will make a difference for first home buyers.

We have much to celebrate after 3 years of Government. Together, Māori and Labour have walked a new path. One underpinned by partnership, based on the articles of the Treaty and the promise of equality.

Together we have started to tackle the big issues. We know that to get real results for Māori, to put an end to the disparity between Māori and non-Māori, we had to do things differently.

Racism in our schools, over representation of Māori in prisons, poor housing and health outcomes, the absence of Māori history and stories, the lack of Māori representation on boards. These are not issues that have arisen overnight. They are problems many governments before now have struggled to tackle. The difference between now and then is that we are not going to keep running the same programmes, supporting the systems and expecting different results. We are changing. We are doing things differently. It is the harder path to walk. That is why, from the outset, we knew we couldn’t walk the path alone.

We established the new portfolio Māori-Crown Relationships – Te Arawhiti, to strengthen the Māori-Crown relationship to ensure that the Crown can grow to be a better Treaty Partner, and enable stronger and more understanding partnerships between Māori and the Crown.

We have invested hundreds of millions of dollars into Māori Education, Te Kōhanga reo, Whānau ora, Papakāinga – all in partnership with Māori.

With iwi across the country we are going to finally teach our history in schools and are working hard to implement Te Hurihanganui with our communities, to remove racism from them as well.

Māori are over represented in prisons. So to get better outcomes we changed the way Corrections operates to get better results. Now we work with whānau, implementing Māori pathways through prison to ensure when Māori leave prison, they have the right support to never come back again.

We have already worked together to make great gains in employment, in Whenua Māori and we continue to work together to respond to COVID-19, but there is still much more to do. Our Māori Manifesto sets out our commitment to continuing on the partnership path with Māori and looks to take bolder steps to create the change we need to finally realise the promise of Te Tiriti – Governance, Rangatiratanga and equality for all.

Labour’s balanced plan keeps debt under control while protecting vital services like health and education. Scroll down to see if you’ll pay more income tax under a Labour government.