The government has unveiled a $50 billion recovery package as part of today's Budget. Here's a breakdown of where Budget 2020's money is going.
Photo: Pool / STUFF / Monique Ford
Some $13.9bn of the fund has already been spent including on the wage subsidy scheme.
Another $15.9bn worth of initiatives was revealed by Finance Minister Grant Robertson today, on the immediate response to kickstart the economy and $20.2bn put aside for future investment.
Here's where the money is going.
Covid-19 recovery package
Business support
- An eight week extension to the wage subsidy scheme for businesses who have suffered a 50 percent reduction in turnover the 30 days prior to their application compared to last year, costing up to $3.2bn
- $400m Tourism sector relief package
- Targeted sector support totalling $41.4m is being spent across three years in construction, digital and agritech sectors
Trades training support
- $1.6bn Trades and Apprenticeships Training Package
- $400m in Ministry of Social Development Employment Support
- $121m for He Putama Rangatahi
- $19.3m to place 10,000 people in primary sector jobs
$1.1 billion environmental jobs package
- The package is predicted to create almost 11,000 new jobs
$900 million to support Māori
- Funding includes a $200m Māori employment package
- $400m increase to Māori education
Housing
- $56m increase to the government's insulation and heating programme
- 8000 new public and transitional homes, to be delivered by Kāinga Ora, community housing providers and transitional housing providers
- Kāinga Ora is anticipated to borrow an additional $5bn to fund its proportion of the houses
Extension of school lunch programme
- $220.6m to be spent on expanding the free school lunch programme.
- An additional 200,000 children will get a free lunch and is estimated to create an extra 2000 jobs
Other measures in this year's Budget
- An extra $833m to go towards disability support services
- An extra $3bn has been put aside to fund infrastructure projects, on top of the $12 billion dollars already announced
- $1bn is being invested to improve transport, including $667 million for rail infrastructure including tracks and new wagons and locomotive and $400 million to replace Interislander ferries
- $55.6m of aid spending for Pacific Island nations
- $1.77bn boost for Defence
- $280m for postal services, made up of $130m from the Budget and $150m from the Covid-Response and Recovery fund
- $6.3bn is being invested in health
- Nearly $1bn to support education services.
