Budget 2015

Budget 2015

What is the Budget?

The budget is the annual allocation of government funds to state services and initiatives. The allocation covers all government spending from social welfare to health.

Every year a budget is announced that shows the government’s spending priorities.

Here’s a rundown of this year’s budget:

What's New?

$790 million child hardship programme

  • Benefit rates for families with children will increase by $25 per week
  • Increase in Working for Families: Lower income working families not on a benefit will get up to $12.50 a week extra from Working for Families, and some very low-income working families will get $24.50 extra
  • Increasing Childcare Assistance: the subsidy rate for low-income families will increase from $4 an hour to $5 an hour for up to 50 hours of childcare a week per child

Removing the $1000 Kiwisaver kickstart

$680 million for primary and secondary education

$305 million to social service initiatives

$210 million for extra broadband

Health spending increasing by $1.7 billion

$35 million for social housing programme

$35 million for social housing outcomes for Māori  

$52 million for developing crown-owned land in Auckland for housing developments

$137 million for regional roads and urban cycleways

$100 million to rebuild Lincoln University science facilities  

$210 million for KiwiRail to maintain New Zealand railways

This article first appeared in Issue 13, 2015.
Posted 11:21am Sunday 24th May 2015 by Henry Napier.