NewzIntel.com

Category: New Zealand

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Investing in local journalism

    Source: NZ Music Month takes to the streets

    New funding will ensure New Zealanders have access to independent local journalism that keeps them informed about what’s happening in their communities, Media Minister Paul Goldsmith says.
    “Regional journalism helps keep communities informed and holds decision-makers to account. 
    “Budget 2025 will invest $6.4 million over four years in council, community and court reporting across New Zealand. The funding will be distributed through NZ on Air.
    “Open Justice and Local Democracy Reporting have been successful programmes with an emphasis on reporting, rather than opinion. This funding expands them. 
    “It will get funding into regional newsrooms so that more local frontline journalists can report on the things that matter to their audiences. 
    “Budget 2025 also adjusts Radio New Zealand’s funding. 
    “RNZ has had funding increases in recent years, most notably a boost of $26 million a year in 2023, on top of a previous increase of $7.3 million per year in 2020.
    Budget 2025 reduces RNZ funding by approximately $18 million over four years, or $4.6 million a year, equivalent to approximately 7 per cent of its annual Crown operating Budget of $67 million. 
    “This savings initiative recognises that government-funded media must deliver the same efficiency and value-for-money as the rest of the public sector. 
    “I expect RNZ to improve audience reach, trust and transparency. I am confident the organisation can do so while operating in a period of tightened fiscal constraint.
    “This comes as the Government considers how it can modernise media legislation through its Media Reform package. 
    “New Zealand media, like media around the world, continue to face significant challenges. We need modern legislation, so the media sector is financially sustainable in the years to come. 
    “I am considering submissions from the recent consultation on media reform. I will have more information on next steps for media modernisation in the coming months,” Minister Goldsmith says. 

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: More funding to cut court case backlogs

    Source: NZ Music Month takes to the streets

    Court case backlogs will be further reduced through extra funding to improve court timeliness and access to justice, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith and Courts Minister Nicole McKee say.

    “Justice delayed is justice denied. Waiting months or years for a case to be resolved only adds to the frustration and trauma for victims and, indeed, all court participants,” Mr Goldsmith says.

    “While there has been progress, it’s really important that we keep things moving. This funding will to do exactly that.”

    Budget 2025 will provide New Zealand’s courts with $246 million of additional funding over the next four years.

    “This funding will support the ongoing operation of specialist courts, tribunals, the District Court, senior courts, the Coroners Court, and the legal aid system.”

    “This Government is supporting the courts to be more efficient and minimise delays, to ensure everyone can navigate the process smoothly and have trust and confidence in the system,” Mrs McKee says.

    “An efficient court system that delivers timely justice is an important part of the Government’s plan to restore law and order. Through Budget 2025 we are making sure we keep our foot on the pedal.”

    In the year ending 31 March 2025, cases disposed of within expected timeframes has stabilised at 81 per cent, after almost a decade of declining timeliness.  

    Backlog cases have decreased by 9 per cent to 7,067, while active cases decreased by 3 per cent to 37,920, with a reduction of 1,074 cases on hand.

    Disposals of district court jury trials are at historically high levels, reflecting the approach of applying additional resources to reduce the post-Covid backlog of trials in Auckland courts. 

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Gulf Harbour homicide: Fourth person charged

    Source: New Zealand Police

    Following a gruelling 14 month investigation, Police have today charged a fourth person in relation to the death of a woman whose body was found in a bag in Gulf Harbour last year.

    The body of 70-year-old Chinese woman Shulai Wang was found in a black rubbish bag in the water in Gulf Harbour on 12 March 2024.

    Acting Inspector Tim Williams, Waitematā CIB, says officers attended an Orewa property this morning where one person was taken into custody.

    “A 64-year-old man was arrested and has been charged with manslaughter and kidnapping and will appear in court tomorrow.”

    This is the fourth arrest in relation to this matter.

    A 37-year-old man, a 36-year-old woman and a 61-year-old woman are each facing charges of kidnapping and manslaughter

    The 64-year-old man will appear in North Shore District Court tomorrow.

    As the matter is before the court Police are limited in providing further comment.

    ENDS.

    Holly McKay/NZ Police

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Parliament Hansard Report – Petitions, Papers, Select Committee Reports, and Introduction of Bills – 001481

    Source: Govt’s austerity Budget to cause real harm in communities

    PETITIONS, PAPERS, SELECT COMMITTEE REPORTS, AND INTRODUCTION OF BILLS

    SPEAKER: A petition has been delivered for presentation.

    CLERK: Petition of Shane Clarke Witehira requesting the House urge the Government to decline Fast Track Application 229 to build a 200-250 berth marina at Waipiro Bay.

    SPEAKER: That petition stands referred to the Petitions Committee. No papers have been delivered. A select committee report has been delivered for presentation.

    CLERK: Report of the Education and Workforce Committee on the briefing on the 2023/24 performance, current operations, and strategic intentions of Immigration New Zealand.

    SPEAKER: The bill is set down for consideration. The Clerk has been informed of the introduction of four bills.

    CLERK:

    • Appropriation (2024/25 Supplementary Estimates) Bill, introduction
    • Military Decorations and Distinctive Badges (Modernisation) Amendment Bill, introduction
    • Financial Markets (International Money Transfers) Amendment Bill, introduction
    • Local Government (Port Companies Accountability) Amendment Bill, introduction.

    SPEAKER: Those bills are set down for first reading.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Minister of Finance’s Budget 2025 Speech

    Source: NZ Music Month takes to the streets

    Mr Speaker,
    I move that the Appropriation (2025/26 Estimates) Bill be now read a second time.
    Ahumairangi, Tangi Te Keo, tū te ao tū te pō. Te Whanganui-a-Tara, te karu waitai, piata mai nā. 
    Kei oku nui kei aku rahi, nōku te hōnore ki te whakamaunu i te tahua mō te tau nei, tēnā koutou katoa. 
    Mr Speaker,
    As I said in te reo Māori, it is an honour to announce this year’s Budget.
    This is a responsible Budget to secure New Zealand’s future.
    It supports the economic recovery now underway.
    It also takes a longer-term view, with initiatives to boost future investment, savings and growth.
    It continues this Government’s investment in health, education, and law and order.
    And, in a challenging global environment, it provides funding to boost New Zealand’s defence capability.
    It does all of this within an expenditure track that reduces government spending as a share of the economy, returns the government’s books to balance, and bends the debt curve from going up to going down.
    The economic outlook presented alongside this Budget is a bright one.
    After a tough few years, growth, jobs and wages are set to rise.
    The Government is not promising that today’s Budget will solve all New Zealanders’ problems.
    But we do promise that the decisions we are taking now will set our country up for a better future.
    Mr Speaker,
    The creation and delivery of an annual Budget is at the heart of strong and stable government.
    This Budget is a team effort.
    I want to acknowledge and thank the Associate Ministers of Finance David Seymour, Shane Jones and Chris Bishop for their ideas and advice.
    They were heavily involved in putting this Budget together, as was the Prime Minister, whose leadership and wise counsel was invaluable. Thank you, Prime Minister.
    Mr Speaker,
    In recent years, New Zealanders have battled through an extended period of high inflation, high interest rates and low growth.
    We know that times remain tough for many Kiwis.
    The good news is that – with strong economic and fiscal management – a recovery is underway.
    The recovery is being supported by lower interest rates and a strong export performance.
    And over the next few years, the Government’s new Investment Boost policy – which I will come to shortly – will have a positive impact on growth.
    Recent tariff announcements have created uncertainty and volatility around the world.
    For a small trading nation like New Zealand, the global situation is concerning.
    It doesn’t threaten the recovery, but it does threaten the pace of the recovery.
    The Treasury has pegged its forecasts back and downside risks remain.
    Despite this, Budget forecasts show economic growth picking up to healthy levels.
    Real GDP growth is expected to accelerate to 2.9 per cent in 2025/26 and 3 per cent in the year after. 
    Growth matters. It means more jobs, higher incomes and opportunities for families to get ahead.
    Over the forecast period, wages are expected to grow faster than inflation and, at the end of that period, there are expected to be 240,000 more people in jobs.
    Mr Speaker,
    The government’s books have taken a hammering over the past six years or so.
    Spending has risen sharply. So has government debt.
    The Budget deficit left by the previous Government is structural – it is not simply due to the state of the economy.
    In other words, the last Government was living beyond its means – loading up the credit card to pay for things New Zealand couldn’t afford. 
    This did real damage to the economy, as a massive spike in the cost of living led to high interest rates and low growth.
    This Government is taking responsibility for cleaning up the mess. 
    Under our fiscal management, Government debt will stabilise, then start to come down.
    And our control of spending creates room for monetary policy to respond with lower interest rates.
    There is no doubt that fiscal consolidation is challenging.
    Some would do it with higher taxes.
    That would burden New Zealand workers and businesses, and scare away talent and investment. It would put our economic recovery at risk.  
    This Government is taking a different approach – we are getting the books in balance by controlling growth in government spending.
    The operating allowance for Budget 2025 is $1.3 billion on average per annum.
    This is the lowest allowance in a decade, significantly down from the $2.4 billion allowance signalled in the Budget Policy Statement in December.
    That reduction of $1.1 billion goes straight to the bottom line. The Government’s headline operating balance indicator, OBEGALx, is $1.1 billion better each year, on average, than it otherwise would have been.
    In addition, the Treasury estimates that the tighter Budget package will see interest rates being 30 basis points lower than they otherwise would have been by the end of the forecast period.
    Importantly, that $1.3 billion allowance is a net figure.
    On the one hand, it encompasses $5 billion a year of new spending and $1.7 billion a year for Investment Boost. 
    On the other hand, it contains savings of $5.3 billion a year.
    These savings are the result of ongoing efforts by multiple Ministers. We take seriously our roles as custodians of taxpayers’ money.
    A significant portion of those savings come from changes to the pay equity regime.
    The changes were made to ensure future settlements stick to correcting pay discrepancies that arise from sex-based discrimination, and not for other reasons.
    Making those changes means the Government can re-purpose $2.7 billion a year, on average, towards Budget priorities like health, education, and law and order.
    That $2.7 billion had been put aside in contingencies for what, under the previous regime, were expected to be very wide-ranging pay equity claims, increasingly divorced from the sex-based discrimination that pay equity is supposed to be about. 
    A one-off $1.8 billion has also been repurposed from previous contingencies and put towards capital expenditure in this Budget, supporting investments in new hospitals, schools and other infrastructure.
    I can assure Members that adequate funding remains in contingency to meet potential costs of future public sector pay equity settlements under the new regime.
    And the Government anticipates there will be pay rises in female-dominated public-sector workforces achieved through normal collective bargaining. 
    The Government has also been able to find net savings by increasing funding for Inland Revenue’s compliance activities. Funding of $35 million a year is expected to result in $280 million of extra tax revenue – an 8 to 1 return on investment. This was an initiative proposed last Budget by New Zealand First and expanded in Budget 2025.
    Further savings have been made by closing a number of tagged contingencies and from reviewing the value for money of grants and funds across government.
    This is not austerity – far from it. In fact, it is what you do to avoid austerity.
    Getting the books in shape ensures New Zealand has financial security and choices in the future.
    As I am about to set out, savings in this Budget have allowed us to make much-needed investments in health, education, law and order, and rebuilding our Defence Force.
    Budget forecasts show that core Crown expenses are expected to remain steady, then decline as a percentage of GDP, reaching 30.9 per cent by 2028/29.
    The OBEGALx deficit is expected to widen in the near term, then gradually improve after next year, returning to a surplus of $200 million by the end of the forecast period.
    At that point, the structural deficit the previous Government left us will have been eliminated.
    Net core Crown debt is expected to peak at 46 per cent of GDP – slightly lower than forecast at the Half Year Update – before beginning to decline.
    As these forecasts show, the Government is taking a deliberate, medium-term approach to fiscal consolidation.
    I am aware there are alternative approaches.
    Some say we should keep on borrowing forever – whack it on the credit card and hope for the best.
    That would be the height of irresponsibility.  It would put the financial security of New Zealand at risk.
    We owe better to our kids.
    And to my own kids, sitting in the gallery today, I want to say that Mum’s been busy lately.
    But your future, and the future of the next generation of New Zealanders, has been very much on my mind as we’ve put this Budget together.
    Mr Speaker,
    New Zealand’s productivity challenges are well understood.
    Study after study has identified a low level of capital investment per worker, compared to other countries.
    To raise productivity, lift incomes and drive long-term economic growth, New Zealand needs businesses, big and small, to invest in machinery, tools, equipment, technology, vehicles, industrial buildings, and other capital assets.
    Investment Boost is a new tax incentive that will increase capital investment in New Zealand.
    Investment Boost allows a business to immediately deduct 20 per cent of the cost of a new asset from its taxable income, on top of depreciation. This means a much lower tax bill in the year of purchase.
    The remaining book value is depreciated at normal rates.
    Since a dollar now is more valuable than a future dollar, the cashflow from investments is more attractive and the after-tax returns are better.
    More investment opportunities stack up financially, so more will be made.
    Over 20 years, Investment Boost is expected to lift New Zealand’s capital stock by 1.6 per cent, GDP by 1 per cent and wages by 1.5 per cent.
    These are orders of magnitude, not precise values. But officials estimate that roughly half the impacts happen in the first five years.
    Investment Boost starts today and applies to new assets purchased in New Zealand as well as assets imported from overseas.
    It includes commercial buildings but excludes land, residential buildings, and assets already in use in New Zealand.
    There’s no cap on the value of new investments and all businesses, regardless of size, are eligible.
    It is estimated to cost an average of $1.7 billion per year in reduced revenue across the forecast period.
    To manufacturers, farmers, tradies and other Kiwi businesses, my message to you is this – our Government is helping you invest for your future and our country’s future.
    Mr Speaker,
    Continuing the growth theme, Budget 2025 funds a number of initiatives that contribute to the Government’s going for growth agenda.
    As I announced earlier this week, the Government has set aside $65 million to encourage foreign investment in New Zealand infrastructure, by increasing the amount of tax-deductible debt foreign investors can use to fund it.
    The Budget also supports the science and innovation reforms announced earlier this year. These include the move to transform Crown Research Institutes into three new public research organisations, establishing a dedicated gene technology regulator, and creating a new agency – Invest New Zealand – as the Government’s one-stop-shop for foreign direct investment.
    Other economic growth initiatives in this Budget include funding for screen production rebates, and additional funding for the Elevate NZ Venture Fund to invest in the technology start-up sector.
    Funding has also been set aside in contingency for potential Crown co-investment in new gas fields to ensure future supply.
    Mr Speaker,
    While KiwiSaver has helped a lot of New Zealanders to save, many people’s balances are modest.
    There would be few people who reach 65, look at their KiwiSaver balance and think “I wish I had saved less”.
    The same goes for those looking to buy their first home.
    Budget 2025 makes changes to encourage Kiwis to save more, while also making the scheme more fiscally sustainable.
    From 1 April 2026, the default rate of employee and employer contributions, which is currently 3 per cent, will go to 3.5 per cent. From 1 April 2028, it will go to 4 per cent.
    Phasing this in over a three-year period helps workers and employers plan ahead.
    The Government recognises that, over time, employer contributions may effectively form part of the wage negotiation process.
    Employees will be able to opt down to the current 3 per cent rate and still be matched by their employer at that lower rate.
    Their contributions will be reset to the default rate after 12 months, but they can opt down again if they wish.
    These changes – moving to a default contribution rate of 4 per cent but retaining a 3 per cent option – were also recommended last year by the Retirement Commissioner.
    From 1 April 2026, the Government will extend employer matching to 16- and 17- year-olds. And from 1 July 2025, it will make them eligible for the government contribution.
    This will encourage more young people to adopt a savings habit and help them build a deposit for their first home.
    Members may recall that the original KiwiSaver design included layers of expensive government subsidies that proved unaffordable.
    Most have since been wound back, apart from the government contribution, which is expected to cost an average of $1.2 billion a year over the forecast period.
    I am advised that the government contribution is unlikely to be increasing the amount New Zealanders save.
    To ensure that KiwiSaver’s costs to the taxpayer remain sustainable, this annual government contribution will be halved to 25 cents for each dollar a member contributes each year, up to a maximum government contribution of just over $260.
    Members with an income of more than $180,000 will no longer receive any government contribution.
    These changes to the government contribution will apply from 1 July 2025.
    They do not affect the current year’s government contribution, which will be paid out in July and August this year.
    Putting all these changes together, the KiwiSaver balances of employees contributing at the new default rate will grow faster than they do at the current 3 per cent default rate, providing a larger balance at age 65 or when people come to buy their first home.
    Savings from changes to the government contribution – which total $2.5 billion over the forecast period – are being used to fund other Budget priorities like health, education, and law and order.
    Mr Speaker,
    A number of Budget 2025 initiatives deliver targeted cost of living support.
    These include fiscally neutral changes to Working for Families to better target low- and middle-income families.
    From 1 April next year, the Government will raise the family income threshold for Working for Families to $44,900 a year and increase the abatement rate slightly to 27.5 per cent.
    As a result, families with incomes just above the new threshold will get an extra $23 per fortnight from Working for Families, with this additional support reducing gradually as family income rises.
    In all, an estimated 142,000 families with children will receive $14 more per fortnight on average, and the vast majority of these families will have incomes below $100,000 a year.  
    The cost of this extra support is met from better targeting the first year of the Best Start tax credit.
    From 1 April next year, the first year of Best Start will no longer be universal but will be income tested the same way the second and third years are, with payments ending completely when a family earns just over $97,000 a year.
    As a consequence, there will be families that receive less financial support than they otherwise would have, but the vast majority of these will have incomes over $100,000 a year.
    The change to Best Start only applies for births on or after 1 April 2026, so no family will see an actual reduction in their payments. And, as a mother of four, I can point out that we are giving prospective parents more than 9 months’ advance notice of this change.
    Mr Speaker,
    Another cost-of-living initiative relates to prescriptions.
    Getting a prescription for only three months at a time can be frustrating for people on stable, long-term medications like asthma inhalers, insulin for diabetes and blood pressure tablets.
    Getting a repeat prescription costs money and adds paperwork for doctors.
    Now, from the first quarter of 2026, New Zealanders will be able to get 12-month prescriptions for their medicines.
    That will save Kiwis medical costs, and it will give health professionals more time to deal with other patients.
    The Budget also helps up to 66,000 additional SuperGold cardholders pay their rates.
    From 1 July this year, the rates rebate scheme will become more generous for SuperGold cardholders and their households, by increasing the income abatement threshold to $45,000 a year and increasing the maximum rebate to $805.
    These changes originated from the National and New Zealand First coalition agreement and will come as a welcome relief to many ratepayers.
    Mr Speaker,
    The biggest part of the Budget is investment in frontline services Kiwis rely on.
    I want to take Members through some key areas of new funding.
    First, let me clarify that when I talk about additional funding, I am referring – unless stated otherwise – to operating funding over the next four years, plus capital funding.
    I will start with health.
    Budget 2025 makes a capital investment of more than $1 billion in hospitals and health facilities.
    Funding has been allocated for a major redevelopment of Nelson Hospital, including a new 128-bed inpatient building. 
    In what is great news for the people of Nelson, the new inpatient building is expected to be built by 2029 – two years earlier than originally planned.
    Funding has also been allocated for a new emergency department at Wellington Regional Hospital.
    In addition, Wellington Hospital will get new specialist treatment spaces, an expansion of the intensive care unit and a refurbishment of the old children’s hospital.
    The Budget also funds infrastructure projects at Auckland City Hospital, Greenlane Clinical Centre and Palmerston North Hospital.
    In terms of operating funding, the Budget confirms a funding increase of $5.5 billion – previously signalled in last year’s Budget – for hospital and specialist services, primary care, community health and public health.
    This will support Health New Zealand to make progress on the Government’s targets for more timely care, including shorter waiting times for hip replacements, cataract surgery and other elective procedures.
    Budget 2025 confirms funding of over $1 billion to buy and deliver additional cancer treatments and other medicines Pharmac has announced over the past 12 months.
    And the Budget provides new funding of $447 million to support increased access to primary care, including urgent care and after-hours services across New Zealand.
    Mr Speaker,
    Giving children a chance to reach their potential through the power of a good education is one of the greatest gifts a government can bestow.
    And to my mind, improving the results we get from our education system is the single most important thing we can do to improve the future productivity of New Zealand.
    New funding in Budget 2025 of $646 million operating, and $101 million capital, is the largest boost to learning support in a generation.
    It will change the lives of children who need extra support to learn because of physical, behavioural, communication or other learning challenges.
    It will also benefit their classmates, whose teachers will now be better supported to meet diverse learning needs.
    Children with additional needs have enormous potential and, with this support, more of them will have the chance to realise it.
    The extra Budget funding will provide more teacher aide hours, more specialist support, learning support coordinators, an expansion of early intervention services, and new learning support classrooms.
    There is also new funding in the Budget for schools’ operational grants, early childhood education and tertiary education subsidies. 
    And there is funding to increase the independent schools’ subsidy to address price and volume pressures over time, delivering on the ACT and National coalition commitment to review the funding formula.
    Extra maths help will be available for students who need it, with $100 million of new funding for early intervention and support. 
    There is a $140 million package of services to lift school attendance, and this delivers on another ACT and National coalition commitment.
    Finally, more than $700 million has been set aside to deliver new schools, purchase sites, expand some schools and build new classrooms.
    Mr Speaker.
    New funding in Budget 2025 continues the Government’s drive to restore law and order.
    The Budget invests $480 million to support Police on the frontline to crack down on crime and keep communities safe.
    We are also keeping communities safe through stronger sentencing laws that mean less violent crime, fewer victims and more offenders in prison.
    The Budget invests $472 million to ensure Corrections can manage this increase in the prison population, including 580 new frontline staff. This reflects an ACT and National coalition commitment to increase funding to ensure sufficient prison capacity.
    The Government is also redeveloping Christchurch Men’s Prison, with the project set to be designed, built, financed, and maintained for 25 years under a public-private partnership.
    Court case backlogs will be reduced through $246 million of new funding, which will improve timeliness and access to justice. 
    Customs is also receiving additional funding to strengthen our border, prevent drug smuggling and fight organised crime.
    Finally, I want to mention Māori and Pasifika Wardens, and the Māori Women’s Welfare League. They are the friendly faces when things get tough, and they are receiving funding in this Budget thanks to New Zealand First. 
    Mr Speaker,
    For too long, New Zealand’s Defence Force has been allowed to gradually deteriorate through loss of personnel and a failure to upgrade equipment.
    Budget 2025 marks a change in that course.
    A major uplift in defence spending will ensure New Zealand pulls its weight in an increasingly volatile world.
    It does this by investing in the men and women of our military and the modern tools they need to do their jobs.
    This uplift cannot be funded in one Budget alone.
    But we have made a meaningful start by funding priority projects including new maritime helicopters.
    The Budget also invests $660 million to improve core Defence Force capabilities across air, sea, land and cyberspace.
    In terms of foreign affairs, the Budget addresses a very steep fiscal cliff in Official Development Assistance, specifically for climate finance, that was unhelpfully left behind by the previous Government.
    The Budget addresses this, at least in part, through ongoing, baselined funding of $100 million a year, focused on the Pacific. Members will not be surprised to know that the Minister of Foreign Affairs has made a case for more funding, and this will be looked at in future Budgets.
    The Budget also includes new funding of $84 million over four years to enhance New Zealand’s relationships with Asian countries, address trade barriers and support the Government’s goal to double exports.
    Mr Speaker,
    Budget 2025 sets aside $230 million for a new Social Investment Fund, of which $190 million is to purchase better outcomes for New Zealanders in need.
    Social investment is about the government investing earlier, guided by data and evidence, and with more transparent measurement of the impact that interventions are having in people’s lives. 
    Over the next year, the Fund will invest in at least 20 initiatives, adopting a very different contracting approach than is traditionally used by government agencies.
    I know the Minister for Social Investment is excited by the prospects for this approach to change vulnerable people’s lives for the better.
    Mr Speaker,
    As announced a fortnight ago, the Budget allocates $774 million to fund initiatives in response to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care.
    The Government has committed this funding, across a number of different votes, to improve redress for survivors and strengthen the care system to prevent, identify, and respond to abuse in the future.
    Mr Speaker,
    Budget 2025 allocates $6.8 billion of capital expenditure.
    This is partially offset by savings, leaving a net capital allowance in the Budget of $4 billion, slightly higher than the $3.625 billion capital allowance signalled in the Budget Policy Statement.
    I have already mentioned most areas of new capital expenditure in the Budget – hospitals, schools, the Defence Force, prisons, and the Elevate Fund.
    Budget 2025 also provides new funding to improve New Zealand’s rail network. Train commuters and businesses moving goods around the country will see more reliable rail services thanks to the Government’s investment of $605 million for rail upgrades and renewals.
    In addition, the Budget provides funding to deliver additional social homes and affordable rentals, including for whānau Māori.
    These Budget 2025 capital initiatives add to existing investments already underway. 
    Government infrastructure investment over the forecast period now totals around $61.8 billion.
    About a third of this investment in infrastructure will be spent on the transport sector and another third is going to education and health.  
    In addition, $3.5 billion has been set aside in each of the next three Budgets for new capital investments.
    Mr Speaker,
    Putting this Budget together wasn’t easy. 
    It involved careful choices and restraint from all Ministers.
    That is as it should be, and as New Zealanders have the right to expect.
    Budget 2025 strikes a careful balance.
    It invests in public services New Zealand needs now, while driving long-term reforms to lift investment and productivity.
    It delivers new hospitals, new schools and a huge boost to learning support.
    It makes changes to encourage Kiwis to save more.
    It provides cost of living relief targeted at low- and middle-income families.
    It takes the first step in a major uplift in defence spending.
    It secures the economic recovery Kiwis depend on.
    And – as all New Zealanders should expect – it does this while setting a course to a balanced budget and an end to rising debt.
    Our approach means New Zealanders can look forward with confidence.
    Every Kiwi can know that this is a Government that has their back.
    Mr Speaker,
    I commend this Budget to the House.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Rates relief for up to 66,000 more SuperGold cardholders

    Source: NZ Music Month takes to the streets

    Budget 2025 will help up to 66,000 more SuperGold Cardholders with their rates payments, Local Government Minister Simon Watts and Seniors Minister Casey Costello announced today.

    “It’s a really tough time for many Kiwis right now and this Government is working at pace to grow the economy so we can take some of the financial pressure off households and ease the cost of living,” Mr Watts says.

    “We are seeing good progress in our economy with inflation and interest rates coming down, but we want to do more to relieve the financial burden for households, including for older New Zealanders.

    “That’s why we’re making changes to the rates rebate scheme for SuperGold cardholders.”

    The Government will introduce a new income abatement threshold to assist SuperGold Cardholders from July 1. The income abatement threshold to be eligible for the maximum rebate for SuperGold Cardholders and their households will be lifted from $31,510 to $45,000 – about the rate for a couple receiving superannuation. The maximum rebate for the scheme will also increase from $790 to $805.

    “This is the first time we are introducing a separate income abatement threshold to the Rates Rebate Scheme, Seniors Minister Casey Costello says.

    “It will mean that every SuperGold Cardholder earning only NZ Superannuation, with rates higher than $2000, will be eligible for the full rebate. SuperGold Cardholders earning more than $45,000 may also be entitled to a smaller rebate.”

    “These changes, worth $154 million over four years, will come as a relief to those seniors who are on fixed incomes and are dealing with rates increases.”

    The National Party and New Zealand First coalition agreement had a commitment to explore options to build on the Local Government Rates Rebate Scheme for SuperGold cardholders and to maximise the benefits of the SuperGold Card.

    “The Rates Rebate Scheme is administered by local councils and provides financial relief for low-income New Zealanders owning their own home,” Mr Watts says.

    Ratepayers can apply for the new maximum rebate under the new abatement thresholds after 1 July 2025.  Application forms will be available from councils and will also be able to be downloaded from the New Zealand Government website (www.govt.nz) and then submitted to local councils after 1 July 2025.

    “If over-65s have questions about eligibility they can contact their council or retirement village operator,” Ms Costello says.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Investment Boost: Tax Incentive to Lift Growth

    Source: NZ Music Month takes to the streets

    “Budget 2025 launches Investment Boost, a major new tax incentive to encourage businesses to invest, grow the economy, and lift wages,” Finance Minister Nicola Willis says.

    “Economic growth is how we raise living standards, create higher-paying jobs and fund the growing cost of the public services Kiwis depend on.

    “To achieve that growth, New Zealand needs businesses to invest in productive assets – like machinery, tools, equipment, vehicles and technology. Investment drives productivity improvements, makes firms more competitive and supports employers to improve workers’ wages. 

    “Investment Boost allows a business to immediately deduct 20 per cent of the cost of a new asset, on top of depreciation, meaning a much lower tax bill in the year of purchase.

    “Cashflows are better, making more potential investments stack up financially.

    “The Treasury and Inland Revenue estimate Investment Boost will improve economic growth, lifting New Zealand’s GDP by 1 per cent, wages by 1.5 per cent and our capital stock by 1.6 per cent over the next 20 years, with around half these gains expected in the first five years.

    “Investment Boost starts today and applies to new assets purchased in New Zealand as well as new and used assets imported from overseas. It includes commercial buildings but excludes land, residential buildings, and assets already in use in New Zealand.

    “There’s no cap on the value of eligible investments. All businesses, regardless of size, can benefit.

    “Investment Boost delivers more bang for buck than a company tax cut because it only applies to new investments, not those made in the past.

    “It is designed to encourage firms to make more growth-enhancing investments now and into the future. 

    “In practice, the policy will reward businesses who make new investments by reducing their tax bills in the year they purchase new assets. For example, with Investment Boost, an advanced manufacturing firm that purchases a $200,000 environmental test chamber would reduce its tax bill by more than $10,000 in the year of purchase. 

    “The policy is expected to cost an average of $1.7 billion per year in reduced revenue across the forecast period. 

    “After many difficult years, New Zealand is once again on a steady economic growth path, thanks to lower inflation, lower interest rates, better-controlled government spending, and more business-friendly policies.

    “Our Government knows businesses have been knocked around by challenging local and international economic conditions. This tax incentive shows that we are backing them to succeed. 

    “Now is the right time to support New Zealand’s economic recovery by making it easier for businesses to invest, hire more workers, pay them better, and contribute more to our long-term prosperity. Investment Boost delivers the confidence injection business needs,” Ms Willis says.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: KiwiSaver changes to encourage savings

    Source: NZ Music Month takes to the streets

    “Budget 2025 improves KiwiSaver to encourage Kiwis to save more for their first home and retirement, while making the scheme more fiscally sustainable, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says.
    “To lift savings and provide greater security for Kiwis, we’re raising the default rate of employee and matching employer KiwiSaver contributions from 3 to 4 per cent of salary and wages, phased in over three years. People will have the choice of remaining on the 3 per cent rate if they choose.
    “To encourage first-time employees to adopt the savings habit, we’re extending the government contribution, and employer matching, to 16 and 17-year-olds in the workforce.
    “We’re also making some changes to the government contribution to ensure the scheme’s costs to the taxpayer remain sustainable.
    “The annual government contribution will be halved to 25 cents for each dollar a member contributes each year, up to a maximum of $260.72. Members with an income of more than $180,000 will no longer receive the government contribution.
    “Putting these changes together, the KiwiSaver balances of employees contributing at the new 4 per cent default rate will grow faster than they do at the current 3 per cent default rate, providing a larger balance at age 65 and a larger deposit when people use KiwiSaver to buy their first home.
    “The new 4 per cent default rate will be introduced in two steps. From 1 April 2026 it will go to 3.5 per cent and, from 1 April 2028 it will go to 4 per cent. Phasing in the increases will help workers and employers plan ahead.
    “The Government recognises there will be times when some people do not feel able to contribute a higher proportion of their wages and salaries to KiwiSaver. Therefore, employees will be able to opt to contribute at a lower 3 per cent rate and have that that lower rate matched by their employer. Their contributions will be reset to the default rate after 12 months, but they can opt down again if they wish. Employees may wish to opt down if, for example, they feel they are unable at that time to afford a higher contribution.
    Changes to the government contribution will take effect from 1 July 2025. The changes will not affect the government contribution for the current year, which will be paid out in July and August this year.
    “An increase in KiwiSaver balances will grow the pool of funds available for investment in New Zealand.
    “The Reserve Bank estimates that about 40 per cent of KiwiSaver funds under management are invested in New Zealand assets. The Government is working to reduce barriers that may stand in the way of KiwiSaver funds investing in a wider range of New Zealand businesses, assets and infrastructure.
    “Most New Zealanders have already embraced KiwiSaver as a simple way of accumulating savings to supplement their income in retirement. The Budget’s KiwiSaver package is designed to encourage them to save more so they can look forward to greater levels of financial security.”
    As at 31 March 2024, KiwiSaver membership had reached 3,334,654 with a total of $111.8 billion in funds under management and an average balance of $33,514 per member.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: A responsible Budget to secure NZ’s future

    Source: NZ Music Month takes to the streets

    Budget 2025 secures New Zealand’s economic and fiscal recovery and advances reforms to make New Zealanders better off in future. 
    “In recent years New Zealanders have battled a protracted period of high inflation, high interest rates and economic downturn. The cost of living has soared, and the government’s books have taken a hammering, with unsustainable spending increases fuelling high levels of debt. Global events have added uncertainty to the mix. 
    “The coalition Government’s strong fiscal and economic management has ensured recovery is now underway. In this Budget, the Treasury is forecasting growth will accelerate over the next four years, bringing 240,000 additional jobs, rising incomes, stable inflation, lower interest rates, a return to balanced government books, and an end to rising debt. 
    “New Zealanders are depending on this recovery, but we cannot take it for granted. Nor can we shirk responsibility for addressing the underlying issues our country faces. 
    “Budget 2025 responds to New Zealand’s long-term challenges with initiatives to boost growth, investment and savings; targeted investments in the essential services and infrastructure New Zealanders rely on; and reforms to fix financial holes in the government’s books.” 
    Budget 2025 achieves this by: 

    Establishing the Investment Boost tax incentive to encourage businesses to invest, grow and lift wages. The policy allows for 20 per cent of the cost of new assets to be deducted immediately from taxable income (on top of normal depreciation). It is expected to lift levels of business investment, with longer-run benefits including increasing the level of GDP by 1 per cent, capital stock by 1.6 per cent and wages by 1.5 per cent over the next 20 years, with at least half those benefits occurring over the next five years.
    Increasing the KiwiSaver balances of New Zealanders by phasing in an increase in default employer and employee contribution rates to 4 per cent; extending the scheme to 16- and 17- year-olds; and making the scheme more fiscally sustainable by halving and better targeting the government contribution.
    Providing Cost of Living Relief by better targeting Working for Families support to deliver an average of $14 extra a fortnight to 142,000 low to middle income families; delivering rates rebates for up to 66,000 SuperGold cardholders; extending prescription periods to deliver savings to patients on long-term medications and new funding for community-based food banks.
    Strengthening Health services through a $7 billion operating funding uplift over the forecast period, including for services provided by Health NZ, targeted funding to support better GP and after-hours care and funding for additional cancer treatments and other medicines. In addition, $1 billion in capital funding is provided for replacing and upgrading public health facilities including Nelson Hospital and the Wellington Emergency Department.
    Strengthening Education provision with $1.5 billion over the forecast period to improve student achievement, including an historic investment in learning support with $646 million of initiatives to ensure earlier identification of and better help for children with additional physical, learning and behavioural needs and over $700 million to deliver new schools and classrooms.
    Improving Law and Order through $1.1 billion additional investment over the forecast period to support frontline policing, initiatives to respond to child and youth offending, tackle organised crime, improve court timeliness and support stronger sentencing with funding for increased prison capacity, including the expansion of Christchurch Men’s Prison through a Public Private Partnership.
    Building Defence Force and Foreign Affairs capability, with $1.9 billion total operating and $1.1 billion total capital investment that recognises the fast-changing geostrategic context and the critical role New Zealand plays in supporting peace and prosperity in the Pacific. A further $1.6 billion total capital is pre-committed against Budget 2026 for further strengthening our Defence Force.
    A range of new Social Investments, including $760 million total operating funding uplift for Disability support services, $774 million to improve the redress system and strengthen the care system for abuse in state care, a new Social Investment Fund, measures to improve the integrity and fairness of the welfare system and the creation of a new flexible housing fund to deliver additional social and affordable housing places.
    $6.8 billion of capital Infrastructure  projects, including funding for rail, roads, health and education infrastructure. 

    “These high-impact investments have been made possible through the Government’s ongoing savings programme. The Budget redirects existing spending towards New Zealanders’ highest priorities, with $21.4 billion operating savings made across the forecast period from 116 initiatives. These savings make the new investments in this year’s Budget possible. Without these savings, our new initiatives would have required funding from extra taxes, or yet more borrowing, both of which would put New Zealand’s economic recovery at risk. 
    “Significant Budget savings have resulted from fixing Labour’s flawed pay-equity regime and removing an assumption that the Government would fully-fund potential settlements involving non-Government employers. 
    “Taken together, these changes have increased the funding available for Budget 2025 by $11 billion operating over the forecast period and an additional $1.8 billion allocated for capital investment. This funding has been redirected to support investments in frontline health, education and other government services. 
    “The Government has kept funding in contingency to settle future pay equity claims that we anticipate will be raised by government employees. Other potential pay equity costs will be considered as part of the normal Budget process. 
    “Future pay-equity settlements will only be awarded where pay discrepancies are proven to be the result of sex-based discrimination. 
    “In addition to pay equity settlements, the Government will fund future pay rises for women-dominated public-sector workforces through the normal collective bargaining process. 
    “Budget 2025 strikes a careful balance – making the investments our country needs now while driving long-term reforms to safeguard the economic recovery and growth New Zealanders depend on. It is a responsible Budget that secures New Zealand’s future.” 
     

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: 12-month prescriptions put money in patients’ pockets

    Source: NZ Music Month takes to the streets

    New Zealanders will soon be able to receive 12-month prescriptions for their medicines, delivering savings to patients on long-term medications, Health Minister Simeon Brown and Associate Health Minister David Seymour say.
    “Currently, doctors and other prescribers can only prescribe most medicines for a maximum of three months at a time. Patients must then pay their GP for a follow-up appointment or to issue a repeat prescription every three months,” Mr Brown says.
    “This creates unnecessary barriers for patients on stable, long-term medications like asthma inhalers, insulin for diabetes, and blood pressure tablets. It means added costs for patients and more paperwork for health professionals, taking time away from patients with more urgent or complex needs.
    “From the first quarter of 2026, prescribers will be able to issue prescriptions for up to 12 months if it is clinically appropriate and safe to do so. While patients will still collect their medication from a pharmacy every three months, they will no longer need to return to their doctor for a new prescription each time.
    “This change could save up to $105 a year in GP fees for patients who need to renew their prescriptions four times annually. It’s a win-win for patients and the health system – fewer avoidable hospitalisations, better health outcomes, and reduced long term costs.” 
    Budget 2025 allocates $91 million over four years to support this change. The funding will cover the cost of additional medicines, as more are expected to be dispensed.
    “This change will remove red tape to make it easier for New Zealanders to get timely access to medicines so that they can live longer, happier, healthier lives,” Mr Seymour says.  
    “Requiring patients on stable, long-term medications to visit GPs four times a year to renew a prescription for 12 months only costs them money and reduces accessibility. A 12-month prescription in these cases is just common sense.  
    “I’m pleased to see the Government’s responsiveness to the voices of patients and their families by expanding access to more medicines for more groups. This decision reflects our commitment to a more adaptable and patient-centered approach.”  
    Mr Brown says this change will also help GPs and other health professionals better manage patients with long-term conditions.
    “Instead of spending time on routine repeat prescriptions, they can focus more on supporting those with complex or deteriorating health needs,” Mr Brown says.
    “It is a practical, patient-focused change that will make access to healthcare simpler, more affordable, and more efficient for New Zealanders.”

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: People Power: Celebrating Te Wiki Tūao ā-Motu – National Volunteer Week

    Source: Secondary teachers question rationale for changes to relationship education guidelines

    Auckland Council is proud to once again celebrate National Volunteer Week, 15 – 21 June, acknowledging the tireless contributions of thousands of volunteers who help make Tāmaki Makaurau a stronger, more connected, and more sustainable region.

    The Auckland Council whānau would like to thank all our volunteers for their mahi and dedication to making our city greater and helping with conservation efforts to protect Auckland’s precious natural environment.

    Over the past year, volunteers have made an extraordinary impact—helping to plant trees, clean up litter, welcome visitors, feed those in need, and care for our natural spaces.

    Volunteering is one of the most rewarding ways to get involved in your community with projects big and small, meet new people, and make a difference. Here are some of the ways you can take part:

    Auckland Botanic Gardens

    Volunteering at the Gardens is a great way to get involved in New Zealand’s largest botanic garden and enjoy the company of people with similar interests.

    You don’t have to be a gardener to volunteer, a range of talents are welcomed to support us in providing visitors with a quality experience. From administrative, front of house, guiding, gardening, basic asset maintenance, holiday programmes and events we can provide you with volunteering opportunities that you will love.

    Auckland’s parks

    Connecting with nature is great for our wellbeing, and with so many beautiful parks across Auckland there is sure to be a local or regional park where you can volunteer.

    Join a regular or one-off working bee, a beach clean-up, or help with pest control. Winter is the perfect time of year for planting and extra help is always appreciated in our parks.

    There are many ways to help treasure and protect Auckland’s biodiversity and environment. By being one of many hands, you can help make a big and important task a little lighter.

    Check out Tiaki Tāmaki Makaurau | Conservation Auckland to learn more about the ways you can support our mission or sign up for a volunteer activity at one of 4000 parks in Auckland with your whānau, friends or work mates.

    Auckland Zoo

    Are you a people person who loves to help others, or a practical person who’s happy to get stuck into more physical tasks?

    Auckland Zoo’s outstanding volunteer programme offers a fun and enriching way to make a positive difference to Zoo visitors, the animals, and the dedicated and passionate kaimahi who care for them.

    Get in touch with us to apply for Visitor Assistant, Zoo Guide, Keeper Assistant, and Zoo Crew roles- we’d love to have you join our whānau.

    Waste Nothing

    Hop on the Zero Waste train and join your local Community Recycling Centres or one of the great waste-focused community organisations doing amazing work across Tāmaki Makaurau.

    From saving food from going into the bin to education around illegal dumping, check out Waste Nothing to find the community partners putting in the mahi to make Auckland more sustainable and discover how you can get involved.

    Or reach out to your closest Community Recycling Centre to find out how you can lend a hand to repurpose and reuse everyday items and reduce waste.

    Getting involved at an Anamata Resource Recovery workshop.

    Auckland Response Teams

    Join one of three Auckland Response Teams and help support our communities before, during, and after emergencies.

    Whether it’s gathering information, assisting with evacuations, providing first aid, or rescuing those in need — you’ll receive the training required to make a real difference when it matters most.

    No prior experience needed — just enthusiasm, a good level of fitness, and a commitment to helping others. You must be 18 or older to join.

    Find out more about Auckland Response Teams and see if emergency response is right for you.

    New Zealand Maritime Museum

    Share your passion for Aotearoa New Zealand’s stories of the sea with local and international visitors, guide groups through the galleries, crew our heritage vessels, or craft exquisite replica models for display.

    The museum is always accepting volunteer applications, and we’d love to have you onboard. Join us today!

    Volunteering Auckland

    Have you made it to the end of this article and still haven’t found the perfect volunteer opportunity?

    Check out Volunteering Auckland! This amazing non-profit, funded in part by Auckland Council’s Ngā Hapori Momoho / Thriving Communities Grant, connects people with all kinds of volunteering roles.

    Whether you’re flying solo or bringing your entire rugby team, there’s a role waiting for you.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Growth-promoting science and innovation backed

    Source: NZ Music Month takes to the streets

    The Government is backing modern, commercially-focused science and innovation to fully realise the contribution it can make to economic growth and the wellbeing of New Zealanders, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. 
    “Budget 2025 reprioritises existing funding towards new growth-promoting investments in science and innovation. The changes will enable safe use of gene technology and secure the long-term success of the science and innovation system,” Dr Reti says. 
    “New Zealand has some of the best researchers in the world, but our publicly funded research institutes have lacked incentives and clear pathways to commercialise their research. 
    “We need publicly funded research to focus on economic growth. We want researchers to use cutting-edge science to solve real-world problems that can be commercialised or help us to prepare for the impacts of natural hazards or climate change. 
    “Through Budget 2025, we are providing funding to support the establishment of three new public research organisations focused on bio-economy, earth sciences and health and forensic sciences. They will be charged with seizing new opportunities and translating ideas into successful commercial enterprise.”
    Budget 2025 also funds a new gene technology regulator to support safe and effective use of gene technology from 2026, following the passing of legislation.
    “Gene technology has enormous potential to improve healthcare, help communities adapt to climate change, boost exports and lift agricultural productivity. 
    “But New Zealand has been held back by some of the most stringent regulations on gene technology in the world. Our competitive advantage is being eaten away by other countries where gene technology is permitted,” Dr Reti says. 
    Budget 2025 also invests in the long-term success of the science system by funding the newly established Prime Minister’s Science, Innovation and Technology Advisory Council. 
    “We must have an eye on emerging opportunities to make sure we keep growing the role of science and innovation – we must always be asking, what’s next?” Dr Reti says. 
    “This council will advise the Government on investment priorities and areas where funding can be better targeted.
    “These investments are about ensuring that our science and innovation system is fit-for-purpose, fosters high-value job creation, boosts productivity, and delivers real-world benefits to New Zealanders.”
    Specific initiatives through this Budget include:

    $20 million over two years to support the establishment of the Bioeconomy, Earth Sciences and Health and Forensic Public Research Organisations. 
    $23 million over the forecast period to establish the dedicated gene technology regulator, as well as compliance, monitoring and enforcement of the new regime.
    $5.8 million over the forecast period to establish and operate the Prime Minister’s Science, Innovation and Technology Advisory Council. This funding will support reporting and monitoring, as well as a secretariat provided by MBIE. 

    These initiatives are being funded by reprioritising existing funding from the Science, Innovation and Technology portfolio.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Investing in infrastructure for all New Zealanders

    Source: NZ Music Month takes to the streets

    Major investments in new and upgraded hospitals, mental health facilities, school buildings, rail and roads across the country are being funded in Budget 2025, Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop says.

    “Our infrastructure investments will grow our economy, create opportunities and raise living standards for Kiwi families. 

    “The infrastructure investments in Budget 2025 build on our existing pipeline of infrastructure projects, including by providing funding for some of the projects highlighted at this year’s Infrastructure Investment Summit.

    “Total capital expenditure in the Budget reaches $6.8 billion, with identified savings supporting the overall cost of our investment programme. The capital allowance for this year’s Budget is $4 billion, which is a little larger than the $3.6 billion previously signalled.”

    Key infrastructure investments in Budget 2025 provide funding certainty for the capital pipeline, including funding over the forecast period for programmes already in delivery:

    • $1 billion investment to upgrade and expand hospitals across the country, including the Nelson Hospital Redevelopment and Wellington Regional Hospital Emergency Department refurbishment, as part of the Government’s commitment to ensuring all New Zealanders can access high quality, modern healthcare
    • $712 million capital and $234 million operating for new classrooms and school property maintenance, including funding for approximately 10,000 additional student places
    • $50 million for upgrades to mental health facilities to provide safer, more therapeutic care settings for patients
    • $464 million capital and $141 million operating for rail maintenance to increase the reliability for commuters and freight in the Auckland and Wellington metro areas, and to replace ageing bridges, culverts and other assets to ensure goods can get to and from our farms, manufacturers and ports.
    • 240 new high security beds at Christchurch Men’s Prison, along with a new Health Centre and Intervention and Support Unit containing 52 beds. Phase 1 of the redevelopment will be designed, built, financed, and maintained for 25 years under a public private partnership. Corrections will retain responsibility for operations and custodial management of the facility
    • $167 million capital and $43.7 million operating over the forecast period to upgrade Defence infrastructure, along with the previously announced $2 billion plus investment to replace the Defence Force’s ageing maritime helicopter fleet
    • $219 million in additional operating funding to complete recovery works on local roads that were damaged in the 2023 North Island weather events.

    “These investments confirm funding for key investments in the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission’s Infrastructure Pipeline. Data from the Pipeline shows that across central government, local government and the private sector there are around $46.7 billion of projects under construction, and over $13.6 billion more of projects which are either in procurement now or are expected to be within the next twelve months.

    “The Government has a comprehensive programme of work to deliver more and better infrastructure for New Zealand, including developing a 30-year National Infrastructure Plan, replacing the RMA to make sure infrastructure can be built faster and cheaper, using public private partnerships to leverage private sector capability and expertise, and utilising new funding tools like tolls and value capture to ensure that pipeline consists of high-quality projects with funding certainty.

    “The Government has ensured it has plenty of room in its fiscal plan to fund emerging infrastructure needs. 

    “Budget 2025 builds on the coalition Government’s commitment of fixing the New Zealand’s infrastructure system, addressing our massive infrastructure deficit, and ensuring we have high quality infrastructure for New Zealanders now and for years to come.”

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Tertiary study subsidy boost in priority subjects

    Source: NZ Music Month takes to the streets

    The Government is backing the tertiary system with new investment in study that delivers the greatest value for students and for New Zealand, Minister for Universities Dr Shane Reti and Minister for Vocational Education Penny Simmonds announced today. 
    “Budget 2025 invests an extra $398 million in tertiary education over the next four years. We need to grow our domestic pipeline of skilled workers to support the growing economy,” Dr Reti says.
    Ms Simmonds says, “When considering subsidies, we focused on workforce demand areas where study adds the greatest value – both for students planning their futures, and for the wider economy that relies on their skills.
    “These subjects often lead to rewarding careers and contribute to productivity and growth in sectors like health, energy, infrastructure and digital technology,” she says.
    The Budget tertiary system investment includes:

    $213 million to provide a 3 per cent increase in tuition and training subsidies in many subjects across all levels of tertiary study. The extra funding will be ongoing from 2026.
    $64 million for an additional 1.75 per cent lift in tertiary education subsidies at degree level and above in high demand “STEM” subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths), along with Initial Teacher Education and other priority health workforce areas. This is on top of the broader 3 per cent increase, meaning that, in total, the STEM and other higher-priority subjects will attract a 4.75 per cent tuition cost subsidy increase at degree level and above.
    $111 million to fund forecast enrolment in 2025 and 2026. This includes ongoing funding for another 175 Youth Guarantee students a year – this scheme provides fees-free tertiary tuition at Levels 1–3 to help young people move to higher-level study or work.

    Budget 2025 proposes an annual maximum fee rise of 6 per cent for 2026 to further help providers manage cost pressures and maintain quality delivery. 
    “The proposed maximum rate reflects that fees have lagged behind inflation in recent years, making it harder for providers to maintain course quality. I will consult on the proposed fee increase later in 2025 through a notice published in the New Zealand Gazette,” Mr Reti says.
    “Together, the targeted funding rate increases and the proposed fee increase will support tertiary education and training providers to sustain the quality of provision and further invest in priority areas,” the ministers say. 
    Changes to funding for vocational education and training will provide some additional support during the transition away from Te Pūkenga to the redesigned system. The new Industry Skills Boards will receive ongoing funding of $30 million a year for industry-led standards-setting alongside Budget funding for a one-off $10 million in 2025/26 towards establishment costs. 
    “Provider-based delivery in priority areas, including engineering, trades and primary industries will receive a boost to funding rates. There will also be funding available for two years from 2026 for institutes of technology and polytechnics during their transition to greater independence,” Ms Simmonds says. 
    “In developing the Budget package, we have reprioritised funding to focus on core activities and to further support frontline tertiary education services.
    “Taken together, these initiatives support a sustainable tertiary education and training sector that will lift student achievement and contribute to growing the New Zealand economy.”

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Funding boost for post-Cyclone local road recovery

    Source: NZ Music Month takes to the streets

    North Island communities still building back after the 2023 weather events will get extra funding to complete recovery works on local roads, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says.
     
    “Last year’s Budget invested nearly $1 billion into recovery and resilience projects in regions hit by Cyclone Gabrielle and the Auckland Anniversary weekend floods.
    “The Government remains committed to the communities working to rebuild lives and neighbourhoods. This Budget provides $219 million additional funding to help get these local roads repaired as quickly as possible.
    “The NZ Transport Agency will distribute the funds to local councils to complete recovery works across affected local roads. This work is vital to restoring access to goods, services and employment opportunities to impacted communities in the North Island.”
    Five councils will likely receive a share of the $219 million, across a three-year period from 2026/27:

    Central Hawke’s Bay District Council
    Gisborne District Council
    Hastings District Council
    Napier City Council
    Wairoa District Council 

    “This initiative provides certainty for councils that the Crown has made funding available to complete recovery works that allow them to budget appropriately for 2026/27 onwards.
    “The Government remains committed to supporting people in affected communities to move on with their lives and look to the future.
    “A resilient transport network in the East Coast and Hawke’s Bay regions will help deliver the infrastructure communities need to grow their businesses, get their kids to school, and ensure goods get from A to B efficiently.”

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: More Police funding to improve public safety

    Source: NZ Music Month takes to the streets

    The Government is investing more in core police services to continue its good progress in restoring law and order and improving the safety of all New Zealanders, Police Minister Mark Mitchell says.
    “This year’s Budget package continues to support Police’s frontline to deliver the policing services our communities need. Our frontline officers do an outstanding job, and this funding will help make sure they can continue doing that.
    “We are investing $480 million over four years to support the Police frontline. Much of this remedies an under-funded increase to Police numbers inherited from the previous Government. It funded the salaries of 1800 extra Police, but not the associated infrastructure, equipment and other costs,” Mr Mitchell says. 
    “There is also new funding of $60 million over four years for the Police Prosecutions Uplift Programme (PUP), and funding to update the out-dated Police payroll, human resources, and workforce management systems. 
    “PUP is a programme of targeted interventions, including improving prosecutions to support court efficiencies and more timely case resolutions. It has the added benefit of freeing up frontline Police from administrative overhead. 
    “The programme started in July 2023 in Auckland, and its success there means it will now be rolled out nationally. 
    “Upgrading the Enterprise Resource Management technology will enable a modern, reliable system that ensures Police’s 10,000-plus staff get paid on time and deliver improved rostering and scheduling data to better inform frontline deployment decisions.   
    “We’re supporting Police to crack down on crime and ensure there are real consequences for offenders.
    “We’ve brought in new laws to go after gangs, we’re tackling youth offending and retail crime, and we funded beat teams to get more officers back on the beat as part of delivering 500 new officers. 
    “We’re demonstrating our commitment to 20,000 fewer victims of violent crime and cutting youth offending by 15 per cent across our Government’s term. We want Kiwis to be safer at home and in their communities. We recognise there is more work to do, and this Budget contributes to that.”

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Improving care for disabled New Zealanders

    Source: NZ Music Month takes to the streets

    More than 7,000 disabled New Zealanders will receive improved residential care, thanks to a $240 million four-year funding boost in today’s Budget. 
    This is on top of more than $1 billion already funded annually for Disability Support Services. It means 89 residential providers across the country, and the people they care for, are better supported.
    Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says today’s announcement reinforces the Government’s commitment to stabilise the disability support system so it’s more consistent, transparent, sustainable and fair.
    “As part of Budget 2025, the Government will increase Disability Support Services (DSS) funding for residential care by $60 million each year over the next four years, starting from 1 July 2025,” Louise Upston says. 
    “DSS provides essential services and supports to more than 52,000 disabled people, including about 7,200 people in residential care facilities. 
    “About half the DSS operating budget is allocated to residential care. It’s vitally important public money going to providers ultimately benefits the disabled people it’s intended for.
    “Previously, funding for carers was unpredictable, subject to change or interruption, and varied across regions. The new funding will remove that uncertainty.
    “These are very significant sums. Government contracts with providers must be robust, fair, and sustainable right across New Zealand.
    “A new residential care pricing model will give providers, disabled people, and their families more confidence in the funding available. 
    “It will allow for more flexibility and means that from 1 July, we are beginning to lift the funding constraints we had to implement last year. 
    “Last year’s independent review was vitally important in responding to serious concerns about the state of disability support services. It found that the cost of residential care services was growing, without the settings in place to manage current or future needs. 
    “Compounding those problems, the system DSS uses to pay residential providers hadn’t been significantly updated since 2016, leading to thousands of one-off, inconsistent rates.
    “This new funding model sets a nationally consistent approach while also recognising regional variations in costs such as housing prices.
    “Importantly, it also enables DSS to forecast expenditure, which will support the Government to make informed future budget decisions.
    “My absolute priority is to ensure continuity of care to disabled people, and to support providers to transition to this new model,” Louise Upston says.
     

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Tackling New Zealand’s rising tax debt

    Source: NZ Music Month takes to the streets

    The Government will boost its investment in chasing tax evaders, Revenue Minister Simon Watts says. 
    “Hard-working Kiwis who pay their taxes are being ripped off by tax cheats who deliberately evade their obligations,” he says.
    “New Zealand’s tax debt rose to $8.5 billion by the end of 2024. At a time when the Government is carefully managing every dollar to fund the essential frontline services Kiwis rely on, it’s essential we crack down on those who are not paying their share of tax.
    “Every dollar we recover is another dollar we can devote to funding schools, hospitals, and law and order. Investment in tax compliance delivers real results for Kiwis.”
    Budget 2025 provides new funding of $35 million a year for Inland Revenue to carry out tax compliance and collection activities. It also continues funding of $27 million a year provided in Budget 2022 that was due to cease in June 2025.
    “We are already seeing returns from the compliance funding in Budget 2024. This increased investment will accelerate that,” Mr Watts says.
    “In the year to March 2025, Inland Revenue collected almost $3 billion of overdue debt and is on track to collect more than $4 billion by 30 June. 
    “The return on investment from compliance activities is increasing. The Budget’s compliance investment has an expected return of four dollars for every dollar spent in 2025/26, rising to eight dollars per dollar spent in 2026/27 and beyond. 
    “We want to know that the funds we allocate are a prudent use of taxpayer dollars. That’s why a small portion of the funding will be used to develop internal capability to assess the indirect effects of audit activity, based on international best practice,” Mr Watts says.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Mental distress 111 calls to get a mental health response

    Source: NZ Music Month takes to the streets

    The Government is overhauling the way emergency services respond to 111 calls from people experiencing mental distress, Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey says.
    Budget 2025 invests $28 million over four years to fund the transition from a Police-led response to a mental health response to 111 mental distress calls.
    The Budget also invests $50 million in improving the safety, privacy and dignity of mentally distressed people at mental health facilities.
    “New Zealand’s current response to mental distress crisis calls is not fit-for-purpose. Transitioning from a Police-led response to a mental health response is the right thing to do,” Mr Doocey says.
    The multi-agency response will involve 10 new co-response teams and a significant boost to the capacity of mental health telehealth services.
    “Advocates, families, Police and mental health and addiction workers have repeatedly told me that having a uniformed Police officer turn up at times of mental health need can be disheartening and distressing.
    “Police do a great job in our communities, but they are not mental health professionals. Police will always attend when there is a threat to life or safety, but this initiative will free Police up to do with core Policing.
    “We know that co-response teams work. An evaluated trial saw fewer people being taken straight to a police station or emergency department. Instead, some had their issues instantly addressed, saying this was far less stressful and frightening than being transferred directly to hospital.
    “The package includes increased funding for psychology internships, stage one psychiatry registrars and peer training. Money is also set aside for security for up to 12 smaller emergency departments that require security and support.”
    Mr Doocey said the investment in lifting standards at care facilities was part of the Government’s response to safety recommendations by the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care.
    “Keeping vulnerable people safe in the care of mental health services is an absolute bottom line for this Government,” he says. “We must ensure mental health facilities are safe and fit-for-purpose.
    “This investment will cover in-depth assessment, safety improvements and upgrades.
    It is expected to reduce the number of incidents and deaths in state care, and to improve working conditions for mental health staff who do an excellent job in often challenging situations.
    “As New Zealand’s first Minister for Mental Health, I’ve heard too many stories from families whose loved ones died while in the care of mental health services. It’s heartbreaking, and we have to do better.”
    The Budget will also bolster safeguards and oversight of compulsory mental health and addiction care.
    “More than $9 million will go towards stronger protections for people receiving compulsory assessment and treatment and to improve complaints and investigation processes for people under compulsory care.
    “These measures will improve the experience of state care for people with high and complex mental health, addiction and intellectual disability needs,” Mr Doocey says. 

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Billion-dollar investment in hospitals

    Source: NZ Music Month takes to the streets

    Nelson and other communities will benefit from a billion-dollar upgrade and expansion of hospitals across the country, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.“Budget 2025 funds a major redevelopment of Nelson Hospital. This will deliver a new inpatient building with more beds to meet population growth. The hospital’s two main buildings will be refurbished, and essential services will be upgraded. The Budget package also provides funding for:  

    Construction of a new emergency department at Wellington Regional Hospital
    The National Remediation Programme and small-scale infrastructure projects
    Increasing interim inpatient bed capacity across New Zealand
    Critical Auckland hospital infrastructure
    Palmerston North Hospital remediation

    “Nelson’s new 128-bed inpatient building – 41 more beds than current capacity – is expected to be built by 2029, two years earlier than planned. The hospital’s two main buildings will be refurbished and seismically strengthened, and a new Energy Centre will house critical infrastructure.“The $73 million design and enabling works for the new hospital are already well underway, and the $11 million emergency department expansion is expected to be completed by early 2026,” Mr Brown says. “Wellington Regional Hospital’s emergency department has long been inadequate to meet demand. The infrastructure boost will support construction of a new emergency department and specialist treatment spaces, refurbishment of the Old Children’s Hospital, expansion of the Intensive Care Unit, and fit-out of refurbished floors in the Clinical Services Block.“Providing more hospital beds quickly is also a priority. New funding will deliver at least three modular, transportable 32-bed inpatient units that can be moved where needed to support ongoing care while major infrastructure projects are underway. “Budget 2025 also funds small-scale support for urgent infrastructure issues at hospitals nationwide.“Fixing critical systems such as electrical, heating and hot water at Auckland City Hospital and Greenlane Critical Centre is a key priority. Patients care is being delayed due to outdated infrastructure which is failing. “Patients and staff in Palmerston North will also benefit from major electrical, heating, and fire protection improvements.”Mr Brown says the Government is determined to reverse decades of under-investment in the health system.“We are making the long-overdue investments needed to modernise our hospitals and strengthen our health system.“Modern reliable infrastructure will help deliver more for patients, reduce waiting lists, and ensure Kiwis can get the timely and quality healthcare they expect and deserve.“Today’s announcement is in addition to the $6.39 billion of infrastructure investment already underway and will support Health New Zealand to deliver the modern reliable health infrastructure Kiwis rely upon. It’s about delivering for New Zealanders now, and creating a system that will serve future generations,” Mr Brown says.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Supporting school choice

    Source: NZ Music Month takes to the streets

    Diversity and choice in New Zealand’s schooling system will be supported by increasing funding for independent (private) school subsidies, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says.
    Budget 2025 will invest $15.7 million over four years to increase the subsidy available for independent schools. This increases the yearly funding for independent schools by 11 percent, from $41.6 million to $46.2 million.
    “Independent schools are an important part of New Zealand’s education landscape, offering diversity and choice to parents. If parents want to send their children to independent schools, they should be able to,” Mr Seymour says. 
    “Often parents are making big sacrifices because they would prefer to send their child to an independent school. They pay just as much tax as anyone else, yet the money that comes back for their kids’ education has effectively been getting smaller over the last 15 years. 
    “In 2010 the Government said that it was appropriate to fund the independent school sector $41.6 million per year to divide between schools based on their roll size. 15 years later, that amount is still the same. In 2010, there were around 27,600 students enrolled in independent schools. This grew to over 33,000 in 2024.
    “Inflation and costs for schools have increased, and independent school enrolments have grown. This means schools receive funding that is worth significantly less than they need. For example, independent schools pay more in GST than they receive in funding.  
    “Alongside an increase to total funding, I am making changes so that funding for independent school subsidies will automatically be considered annually to accommodate roll growth. This will mean independent school funding increases will work the same way as any other school.
    “Independent schools are a crucial part of the education system. The sector has been seeking changes to ensure they can continue to support students. This funding addresses key issues they have raised and gives independent schools support that is long overdue.” 

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Investing in public safety and reforming young offenders

    Source: NZ Music Month takes to the streets

    Initiatives to help serious and persistent young offenders turn their lives around, and improvements to facilities for them, have been given a significant financial boost in Budget 2025. 
    Building on the successes that have already led to a 13 per cent reduction in young people with serious and persistent offending behaviour (a key Government target), more than $103 million is being invested over four years in upgrading facilities and funding ways to address recidivism amongst young people.
    “This investment will have a real impact on these young people and their whānau. It will also ensure our communities are safer, both immediately and in the future”, Minister for Children Karen Chhour says.
    “This Government’s efforts to keep the public safe and reform young offenders is already bearing fruit. The Budget ensures we can continue this important work.”
    The funded initiatives over four years include: 

    $22 million for repairs and upgrades to Oranga Tamariki residences
    $16 million to implement the new legislative regime for Young Serious Offenders, as proposed by the Oranga Tamariki (Responding to Serious Youth Offending) Amendment Bill
    $33 million in safety and quality improvements to the facilities at youth justice residences
    $33 million for the operation of military style academies and transitional support for young serious offenders. 

    “Sometimes all it takes to improve the lives of an entire whānau is supporting one young person to make better choices.
    “We continue to want better for, and from, these young people. This is not just an investment in facilities, it is an investment in them,” Mrs Chhour says.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: More staff, better prisons to keep public safe

    Source: NZ Music Month takes to the streets

    New investment in prison capacity and frontline staff will help reduce reoffending and keep the public safe, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. 
    “Our Government has restored proper consequences for crime. Because of that, there has been an increase in the prison population and fewer victims of crime.
    “Budget 2025 invests more than $472 million over four years to ensure Corrections can continue to safely and securely manage the growing prison population. This includes funding for 580 new frontline staff, including 368 Corrections Officers. This is additional to the 685 new frontline staff funded through last year’s Budget.
    “Corrections is ready to recruit these staff through an excellent recruitment campaign that has driven more than 110,000 applications since being launched in February 2024,” Mr Mitchell says. 
    “We’re also investing in safe, fit for purpose prisons including redeveloping Christchurch Men’s Prison.
    “Funding through Budget 2025 will help deliver 240 new high security beds at Christchurch Men’s Prison, along with a new Health Centre and Intervention and Support Unit containing 52 beds. 
    “Phase 1 of the redevelopment will be designed, built, financed, and maintained for 25 years under a public private partnership. Corrections will retain responsibility for operations and custodial management of the facility.
    “The new Intervention and Support Unit will provide dedicated specialist mental health support to prisoners who are at risk of harming themselves or others. This unit will be safer for staff and help prisoners with their mental health needs, preparing them to successfully take part in rehabilitation programmes.
    “Our investment will ensure Corrections can meet other cost pressures due to the increase in prisoners and inflation.
    “We’re investing in the frontline because we are serious about bringing back law and order and creating a safer New Zealand.”

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: $200m set aside for Crown stake in new gas fields

    Source: NZ Music Month takes to the streets

    The coalition Government is taking action on New Zealand’s declining natural gas reserves and has set aside a tagged contingency of $200 million over four years for co‑investment in new gas fields, Resources Minister Shane Jones says.
    The structure of investments is still being worked through, but this signals a willingness, subject to Cabinet consideration, for the Crown to take a commercial stake of up to 10-15 per cent in new gas field developments that feed the domestic market to address sovereign risk.
    “Natural gas will continue to be critical in delivering secure and affordable energy for New Zealanders for at least the next 20 years. We are already feeling the pain of constrained supply,” Mr Jones says.
    “We are focused on growing the New Zealand economy, creating jobs and increasing prosperity and resilience. The Government is not prepared to sit on the sidelines and watch our industrial and manufacturing dwindle because of energy security concerns.
    “Developing a new offshore gas field from exploration to production can carry a billion-dollar price tag and projects of this scale are likely to need offshore investment. We have demonstrated potential for significant gas development and while investors are interested, we need to show their commitment will not be a wasted exercise.
    Talk is cheap but having skin in the game as a cornerstone investor in production demonstrates our own commitment to meeting our future gas needs. We are looking to take a stake in the development of the next Pohokura, Kupe, Mangahewa or Turangi to accelerate the investment needed to support our energy system.
    “If we really want to address the current reality that we rely on imported coal, not domestic gas, to get through winter we must be prepared to stand alongside our petroleum sector as a co-investor. I say to my colleagues across the political spectrum, for the sake of energy affordability and security, be pragmatic about the role of natural gas, now and in the coming decades.”

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Helping older people get the right care

    Source: NZ Music Month takes to the streets

    New funding will give older people greater access to aged residential care and longer care outside of hospitals, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today.
    “We want to ensure older New Zealanders can get the treatment and care they need in the best possible place. They should not be in hospital simply because they are frail and there are limited options for their care,” Ms Costello says.
    “This investment of $24 million over four years will help people, who don’t need continued hospital treatment, to move to other care places in the community, including aged residential care.”
    This timely care transfer initiative was developed with the aged care sector in 2023 but had time-limited funding that ends next month. 
    “This investment means current delays in discharging older people from hospital will be reduced and hospital beds will be freed up for those requiring treatment,” Ms Costello says. “It will benefit anyone needing to access hospital and specialist services.
    “The new funding will enable better rehabilitation and recovery in the community – for example, providing support for older people with exceptional needs, such as bariatric care, and the extra care required for new residents with complex needs,” Ms Costello says.
    “I’ve seen first-hand how Aged Care residences can provide this level of recuperative care. They are currently funded to provide these ‘hospital’ rooms, and this extra funding will support access to this care and for the transfer process to occur safely and faster.
    “We are working on large-scale and long-term improvements to the aged care system, but this initiative delivers some immediate support and helps us achieve national health targets.”

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Parents to step up for unemployed teenagers

    Source: NZ Music Month takes to the streets

    Parents rather than the state will be responsible for unemployed 18- and 19-year-olds who cannot support themselves under planned benefit changes announced in today’s Budget. 
    “The purpose of the welfare system is to support those who need it the most,” Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. 
    “Our Government is taking steps to make sure work or study is the focus for young people, rather than being on welfare. 
    “With this announcement, we’re clearly saying that 18- and 19-year-olds who don’t study or work and can’t support themselves financially, should be supported by their parents or guardians, not by the taxpayer.
    “That’s why from July 2027, eligibility for Jobseeker Support and the Emergency Benefit will be tightened for single unemployed 18- and 19-year-olds by introducing a parental assistance test. 
    “Young people can’t expect to go automatically onto a benefit, and parents must be ready to help. This change strengthens financial incentives to enter employment, education or training. 
    “Recent forecasts show that people under the age of 25 on Jobseeker Support will spend an average of 18 or more years on a benefit over their lifetimes – 49 per cent longer than in 2017. 
    “This is a human tragedy. We need to focus on the potential of one of New Zealand’s most powerful assets – our young people, and that’s why we are taking action.
    “Our Government has already introduced more early intervention for young beneficiaries through a new phone-based employment case management service. We’ve got 2,100 more places for young people to get community job coaching, more regular work seminars, and a traffic light system to help them stay on track with their obligations.
    “Young people who do require support from the Ministry of Social Development will still be able to access it. For instance, in some cases 18- or 19-year-olds may not be able to rely on parental support. If they meet all other relevant eligibility criteria, they will be able to access some supports. 
    “People aged under 20 who are married, in a civil union or a de facto relationship will not be subject to a parental assistance test. 
    “This Government recognises that the welfare system should be available for those that need it. However, we aren’t willing to watch young people get stuck on the benefit.
    “This change will contribute to the Government’s economic growth agenda, by ensuring New Zealand has a highly skilled workforce and maximises its human capital.
    “Our Government does not accept that a life on welfare is as good as it gets for our young people. We expect that our young people will be in work or training,” Louise Upston says. 
     

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Record investment in health delivery

    Source: NZ Music Month takes to the streets

    The Government is again delivering record investment in healthcare, providing New Zealanders with better health services and ensuring hospitals and healthcare facilities are fit for the future, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.
    “Budget 2025 provides a $7 billion increase in Vote Health operating funding over the forecast period. This includes the $1.37 billion per annum increase to Health New Zealand’s baseline – bringing total health spending in 2025/26 to $32.7 billion,” Mr Brown says.
    “Budget 2025 confirms our commitment from last year’s Budget of a record investment in health over three budgets. That funding is already delivering results – more elective surgeries, GP appointments, and other critical healthcare services New Zealanders rely on.
    “Other new initiatives include $91 million to increase prescription lengths and $447 million to support increased access to primary care.
    “Budget 2025 also invests over $1 billion in new capital to deliver modern, fit-for-purpose infrastructure that meets the health needs of New Zealand’s growing and ageing population.
    “We’re also making real progress on our health targets. Emergency department wait times are coming down, cancer patients are being seen faster, and childhood immunisation rates are improving.
    “This year’s Budget builds on that momentum, with targeted investments to strengthen frontline services and improve access to GP and specialist care across the country.”
    For patients, this funding will support Health New Zealand to deliver its plan for increased care for patients and will include:  

    21,000 additional planned care treatments (to an estimated 343,000 treatments)
    31,000 additional cancer treatments to administer new funded medicines (to over 455,000 treatments)
    22,000 additional people receiving inpatient care (to an estimated 984,000 people)
    50,000 additional events in emergency departments (to a projected 1,411,000 events)
    231,000 additional general practice encounters (to a projected 21,824,000 encounters)
    119,000 additional bed nights in the residential aged care sector (to a projected 9,717,000 bed nights, excluding psychogeriatric bed nights). 

    Specific Budget 2025 initiatives include: 

    Increased access to urgent and after-hours care, helping to reduce pressure on emergency departments
    Expanding the primary care workforce, including training more doctors and nurses locally
    24/7 access to digital primary care for online medical consultations, making it easier for people to get advice and prescriptions from their own homes
    Easier access to long-term prescriptions and broader prescribing rights across the health workforce
    Streamlined transfers from hospital to aged care, helping free up inpatient hospital beds and improve continuity of care
    Increased funding for the Health and Disability Commissioner to improve complaint resolution and care standards
    Support for a new multi-agency response to mental health distress calls
    Continued investment in hospital and facility upgrades across the country, ensuring clinical environments are safe, modern, and fit for purpose. 

    “We are delivering on our promise to put patients first. This additional investment of 7.4 per cent in total funding represents an increase of 6.2 per cent per capita, which will make a real difference to people’s lives – ensuring timely, high-quality care for patients while supporting our frontline workforce who deliver that care every day.“Budget 2025 reflects our commitment that all New Zealanders – no matter where they live – deserve a health system they can rely on that is focused on delivering for them, the patient,” Mr Brown says.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: National security brings economic benefits

    Source: NZ Music Month takes to the streets

    Pulling our weight in an increasingly volatile world will keep New Zealanders safe while boosting our domestic economy, Defence Minister Judith Collins says.
    “To achieve this, the Government has allocated $2.7 billion of capital and $563 million of operating funding for priority projects identified in the Defence Capability Plan we released last month. 
    “This includes the replacement of maritime helicopters and complements the $957 million for defence activities, personnel and estate previously announced,” Ms Collins says.
    “This previous announcement, and today’s commitments, brings the total investment in Defence to $4.2 billion in Budget 2025.
    “Today we announce investments in critical tools that support our national and economic security. This ranges from updated and interoperable missile systems to counter uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) to protect our people and assets, through to planes that are essential for deploying troops and equipment and supporting international trade and diplomatic missions.
    “We will be looking to use New Zealand businesses where it makes sense to do so, further demonstrating the Government’s commitment to supporting those who are innovative and capable of developing tools and capability that Defence needs.
    “Ultimately, spending on Defence will result in economic benefits to everyday New Zealanders and New Zealand businesses. I look forward to seeing our Defence industry grow in a range of areas, whether through New Zealand designed or built products, particularly in the advanced technology area, infrastructure development, or domestic contractors supporting high-value military procurement.”
    The $2.7 billion in capital and $563 million in operating funding announced today for priority Defence projects covers essential items including:

    replacing the two Boeing 757s to support military operations and deployments, humanitarian and disaster relief support, and trade and diplomatic missions
    replacing the Seasprite maritime helicopters to operate from Navy ships (previously announced)
    replacing the Javelin anti-armour missile system launch units with new units to ensure interoperability with partner militaries and provide the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) with the ability to fire at longer ranges
    encrypted radios to provide deployed Army units with secure voice communication
    a counter-UAS that can be set up in fixed locations and is able to disable drones/UAS that could pose a threat to personnel, aircraft/vehicles and infrastructure
    detailed design work for the future of Devonport Naval Base; and
    investment in homes for Defence families, Defence infrastructure, modernising the Defence vehicle fleet and digital and information management projects.

    “These investments are critical to enable Defence to increase its lethality, protect New Zealand, and deliver what we expect of them,” Ms Collins says.
    “The Defence Capability Plan outlines planned commitments of $12 billion over the next four years – including $9 billion of new spending – subject to future Budget decisions and Cabinet approving business cases. Our Budget commitments are yet another strong signal that we are cracking on and delivering on this plan, which will take Defence spending to 2 per cent of GDP by 2032/33.
    “The Government’s backing of Defence shows a very real recognition of the value we place on the men and women who serve and protect this country and its interests.
    “Our people are being called upon to go more places, more often and for longer to play New Zealand’s part in contributing to global security. This funding will enable them to do that.
    “We will pull our weight.”

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Delivering the right houses in the right place, for the right people

    Source: NZ Music Month takes to the streets

    Budget 2025 introduces a new housing investment approach that will deliver the right houses, in the right places, for the right people, Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka say.
    “This Government believes in social housing. New funding of $128 million over four years will deliver at least 550 more social homes in Auckland in the 2025/26 year. That’s on top of the 1,500 new social homes funded through Budget 2024, to be delivered from 1 July 2025. 
    “More than 600 of the houses funded through Budget 2024 have been allocated already through government relationships with community housing providers. 
    “We’re also making it easier for the community housing sector to plan and get on with the job of housing people in need. We’re committing $82 million total for Upfront Operating Supplement payments for community housing providers in certain circumstances when contracts for new social housing are agreed. This upfront funding will help get new social homes built faster.
    “The Government is also establishing Crown lending facilities of up to a total of $150 million for the Community Housing Funding Agency, to help lower the cost of borrowing for community housing providers.
    “Over the last year we have looked at the bigger picture of how we invest in social and affordable housing.
    “At present the Government has a confusing and often duplicative tangle of housing funds, many of which are tightly limited in what they can fund. Successive governments have added new funds over time. The system is inflexible, with investment determined by programmes with available funding rather than what is needed in a region.
    “To fix this, the Government is establishing a new contestable Flexible Fund, replacing previous housing programmes like the Affordable Housing Fund, the Progressive Home Ownership Fund, and remaining Whai Kāinga Whai Oranga funding.
    “The fund consists of $41 million operating funding over four years and $250 million capital funding over the next ten years for additional houses from 1 July 2027. Subject to further design work on the fund, this will enable up to 650-900 social homes and affordable rentals.
    “Our intention is that the new Flexible Fund will use a variety of providers to deliver different housing types, including social houses and affordable rentals built by community housing providers, Kāinga Ora and Māori providers. 
    “The new Flexible Fund is a key part of a new housing investment approach that will better target new and existing government investment to focus on particular needs in particular regions and be more effective at delivering the right types of houses. It will give us a much more granular understanding of the types of housing required – and who is best placed to deliver them.”
    Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says the new Flexible Fund will also provide for government-subsidised affordable rentals as a permanent part of the housing system. 
    “Affordable rentals allow people to pay less than the market rent in a region. They are a missing link in the social housing system. There should be an intermediate option between traditional social housing, where people usually pay 25 per cent of their income, and market rentals.
    “Māori housing providers have brilliantly demonstrated the benefits of these homes in places like Rotorua and Gisborne.
    “We expect that credible Māori providers and community housing providers will be eligible for investment through the Flexible Fund, particularly given their recent success in delivering quality houses.”
    Decisions about the design of affordable rentals, the parameters of the Flexible Fund and how the funding will be used will be made later in 2025.
    The Budget also contains a range of savings initiatives to fund cost pressures in Vote Housing and Urban Development, including making the First Home Loan Scheme cost recoverable.”

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Increased support for families

    Source: NZ Music Month takes to the streets

    Budget 2025 changes Working for Families to better target help to low and middle-income families with children.
    About 142,000 families will receive an average $14 a fortnight extra from Working for Families. The vast majority have an annual family income under $100,000.
    “We want financial support to go to families that need it most. The changes in this Budget will help families with cost of living and support them to remain in work,” Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says.
    These changes are being delivered through changes to the abatement threshold. The abatement threshold is the income level at which Working for Families entitlements begin to reduce. 
    “The current threshold has been unchanged since 2018, despite inflation and wage growth. This means the scheme has become less effective at supporting low and middle-income families,” Louise Upston says.
    “Accordingly, the Government is lifting the Working for Families abatement threshold from $42,700 to $44,900 and raising the abatement rate from 27 per cent to 27.5 per cent. Families with incomes close to the new threshold will get greater additional payments – up to $23 a fortnight.
    “The cost of the extra support will be met by income testing the first year of the Best Start tax credit in the same way the second and third years are, with payments starting to diminish above a family income of $79,000 and cutting off entirely when a family earns just over $97,000 a year.” 
    Families of children born before 1 April 2026 won’t have their Best Start payments income tested and will continue to receive the maximum amount until their child turns one.
    “We are also concerned that families are getting into Working for Families debt just because their incomes or family circumstances change unexpectedly during the year,” Revenue Minister Simon Watts says. 
    “To address this, the Government is releasing a discussion document with proposals to make Working for Families payments more accurate, including using past income, over shorter periods, to calculate entitlements. We know that having debt with Inland Revenue can be distressing so we are interested in what people think of the proposals.”
    The changes will take effect from 1 April 2026, following legislation to be introduced on Budget Day today.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –