Budget a mixed bag for Feilding family
Tax changes announced in the Budget are unlikely to massively shake up the average Manawatu family budget, with one Feilding family describing them as the ‘‘icing on the cake’’.
Changes to the tax system were the centrepiece of the National-led Government’s Budget, released on Thursday.
While no-one was given an income tax cut, Finance Minister Steven Joyce announced changes to income tax brackets, Working for Families and the accommodation supplement.
Budget calculations show the average Manawatu household with two children will take home an extra $41.85 a week.
Superannuant couples will be $15 a week better off, but a childless, single person on the average Manawatu/Whanganui wage of $34,164 will get a paltry 77 cents extra each week.
Feilding nurse Katie Burgers, who lives with her flight instructor husband Ian and two children, Liam and Rebecca, said she was unsure how much her family would be impacted.
She was on shift work, while her husband worked plenty of overtime.
However, the low cost of living in Feilding meant she was unlikely to feel the tax changes as keenly as others.
‘‘Living in Feilding, the heating cost is not as ridiculous as in Christchurch
‘‘It’s icing on the cake, it really is. I think of nurses in Wellington and the ridiculous amount they spend on rent and they’re doing the same job as me.’’
She was a big fan of a $3.9 billion increase to the health budget, which included extra funding for mental health services and $59.2m to ensure all ambulances were double-crewed.
While Burgers worked in pediatrics, having more funding for other areas would help the system as a whole, she said.
Another announcement she gave a big tick to was the 1125 more police staff and the $47.8m to reduce burglary and youth offending.
She described youth offending as a ‘‘huge problem’’, evidenced by a spate of dairy robberies in the region allegedly committed by youths.
‘‘Living in Feilding, the heating cost is not as ridiculous as in Christchurch. ’’ Katie Burgers
She hoped the focus would go on keeping children away from drugs and alcohol.
Environmental spending was low on the Budget priority list, with the only notable spending being $1m towards cleaning up rivers.
Burgers said that was ‘‘extremely poor’’, and thought it would have been a bigger priority considering its flow-on effect to tourism.
‘‘People come to New Zealand for tourism, and that’s big bucks for the country.
‘‘We want people to come here and see New Zealand as a lovely place.’’
She was excited to hear $10.2m was being put toward improving young New Zealanders’ financial knowledge, which will see training and resources given to teachers and schools to integrate financial education into the curriculum.
‘‘I can tell you what I got taught [about finances] at school. I got taught nothing. Nothing about budgeting or looking at rent, or power, or phone bills. The more we get into debt, the more our children are going to think that’s normal.
‘‘I’m for education for everyone.’’
Palmerston North-based NZ First MP Darroch Ball described the Budget as a ‘‘lolly scramble’’.
The lack of investment in business, combined with the boost in areas like social housing and mental health, showed National was trying to hit the areas it thought could get the the most votes in an election year, he said.
Palmerston North MP Iain Lees-Galloway , of Labour, said he did not see anything in the Budget specifically for Manawatu.
The tax changes would most benefit well-off workers, while those on lower wages would feel little change.
FIVE BIG MANAWATU ISSUES FROM BUDGET 2017
Defence - The men and women in uniform were given a $982m boost, $576m of that in capital and $100m going directly toward upgrading defence camps in Manawatu, Auckland and Canterbury.
Housing - Property investors will enjoy the lack of a capital gains tax, although first home buyers may have wanted one. Meanwhile, $205m has been put into social housing. The Accommodation Supplement has also gone up, with some students eligible for up to an extra $20 per week.
Tax - National has moved the tax brackets and made changes for Working for Families. Lowincome earners are the big winners, but National scrapping the Independent Earner Tax Credit will see a childless single person on the average wage just $40 per year better off.
Transport - KiwiRail has been given a $548m boost, but a significant chunk of that will go towards repairing the rail lines near Kaikoura. While Wellington is getting $98.4m for its commuter trains, there was no mention of the Capital Connection. A state highways announcement was made, but State Highway 3 through the Manawatu Gorge is not getting any extra money for improvements.
Environment - People wanting big improvements made to the Manawatu River and Lake Horowhenua will be disappointed, with only $1m added to the Te Mana o Te Wai fund, which is used to clean up lakes, rivers, streams, estuaries and lagoons of importance to iwi and hapu.