Budget 2020: What you need to know

Friday, 15 May 2020, 1:58 pm
Article: RNZ

The government has unveiled a $50 billion recovery package as part of today's Budget. Here's a breakdown of where Budget 2020's money is going.

Some $13.9bn of the fund has already been spent including on the wage subsidy scheme.

Another $15.9bn worth of initiatives was revealed by Finance Minister Grant Robertson today, on the immediate response to kickstart the economy and $20.2bn put aside for future investment.

Here's where the money is going.

Covid-19 recovery package

Business support

• An eight week extension to the wage subsidy scheme for businesses who have suffered a 50 percent reduction in turnover the 30 days prior to their application compared to last year, costing up to $3.2bn
• $400m Tourism sector relief package
• Targeted sector support totalling $41.4m is being spent across three years in construction, digital and agritech sectors

Trades training support

• $1.6bn Trades and Apprenticeships Training Package
• $400m in Ministry of Social Development Employment Support
• $121m for He Putama Rangatahi
• $19.3m to place 10,000 people in primary sector jobs

$1.1 billion environmental jobs package

• The package is predicted to create almost 11,000 new jobs

$900 million to support Māori

• Funding includes a $200m Māori employment package
• $400m increase to Māori education

Housing

• $56m increase to the government's insulation and heating programme
• 8000 new public and transitional homes, to be delivered by Kāinga Ora, community housing providers and transitional housing providers
• Kāinga Ora is anticipated to borrow an additional $5bn to fund its proportion of the houses

Extension of school lunch programme

• $220.6m to be spent on expanding the free school lunch programme.
• An additional 200,000 children will get a free lunch and is estimated to create an extra 2000 jobs

Other measures in this year's Budget

• An extra $833m to go towards disability support services
• An extra $3bn has been put aside to fund infrastructure projects, on top of the $12 billion dollars already announced
• $1bn is being invested to improve transport, including $667 million for rail infrastructure including tracks and new wagons and locomotive and $400 million to replace Interislander ferries
• $55.6m of aid spending for Pacific Island nations
• $1.77bn boost for Defence
• $280m for postal services, made up of $130m from the Budget and $150m from the Covid-Response and Recovery fund
• $6.3bn is being invested in health
• Nearly $1bn to support education services.

Read the full wrap on where the money is going here.

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