Today’s the day for changes in fees, tax and pay

WELLINGTON: Parents of newborns can claim an additional month of paid leave from today.

The new leave benefit is part of a raft of changes which come into effect from today.

Some of the changes will put more money in New Zealanders’ pockets or provide relief, including higher pay for childcare teachers, free apprenticeships and lower building consent fees.

Others will introduce new costs, including higher petrol bills and road user charges.

Paid parental leave

Paid leave for parents rises from 22 weeks to 26 weeks after rising from 18 to 22 weeks in 2018.

Extending paid leave was one of the Coalition Government’s first law changes after it came into power in 2017.

The payment of up to $585 a week applies to families or carers of babies which are born from today, or had a due date of July 1 or later. It will cost about $81 million a year.

The extension means New Zealand now has a more generous scheme than Australia, which offers 18 weeks, but less generous than the United Kingdom, which has 37 weeks.

Parents will also be able to work more hours while on parental leave without it being considered a return to work. The maximum number of hours will rise from 52 hours to 64 hours.

Petrol tax

The excise duty on petrol will rise from 66c a litre to 70c a litre today.

The higher fuel price would cost the average onevehicle household about $35$40 more a year, the Ministry of Transport said.

It is the third consecutive year of increases, and the National Party urged the Government to delay it given the economic impact of Covid19.

The Government has ruled out further increases in the next few years to provide relief following the global pandemic.

The Automobile Association said the increase could be ‘‘easier to swallow’’ because fuel prices are currently at their lowest levels since 2017.

The extra tax take will go to the National Land Transport Fund, which pays for improvements, operation and maintenance of the transport network.

Road user charges

Costs will also rise today for drivers of diesel vehicles and truck drivers, who pay for the upkeep of New Zealand roads through road user charges rather than fuel taxes.

Road user charges are rising from $72 to $76 per 1000km.

This extra funding will also go to the National Land Transport Fund.

Free apprenticeships

Apprenticeships and vocational courses in ‘‘critical industries’’ will be free over the next two years for everyone — not just those eligible for the feesfree tertiary study scheme.

The Government is spending $1.6 billion on the scheme, which is partly to help people retrain if they have lost their jobs during the pandemic.

Up to 100,000 students and apprentices could qualify.

The sectors which are covered by the scheme are primary industries, road transport, community support, construction, electrical engineering, manufacturing and mechanical engineering.

ECE pay rise

Newly trained early childhood teachers will get pay rises of up to 10% from today.

The move is considered a first step towards putting all qualified teachers in early childcare education on the same pay scales.

Announced in the Budget, $151 million is being spent over four years to raise the minimum pay rate for qualified teachers in private and communityowned education and care centres from July 1 to the same as the starting rate for kindergarten teachers — $49,862 a year.

The move will lift minimum pay rates for nonkindergarten teachers by 6.5% for those who have a bachelor’s degree plus an early childhood qualification, whose minimum pay is now $46,832, or by 9.6% for those with only an early childhood degree or diploma whose mini

mum is currently $45,491.

Refugee quota lifted

New Zealand will lift the number of refugees it takes from 1000 a year to 1500 a year.

As part of the higher quota, the induction programme for refugees at the Mangere Refugee Resettlement Centre will be reduced from six weeks to five weeks.

Six new locations for refugees have been confirmed in Ashburton, Whanganui, Timaru, Blenheim, Masterton and Levin.

Farm debt mediation

A new scheme is being introduced which will help farmers who are feeling financial pressure.

A neutral, independent mediator will be available to help farmers and creditors work through debt issues.

Total farm debt in New Zealand is $62.8 billion, up 270% on 20 years ago.

Cheaper building levy

Building consent costs will be reduced by about $80 for a new build.

This is because the building levy is being reduced from $2.01 to $1.75 per $1000 of consented building work. It applies to consented building work above $20,444.

As well as lowering the average new build cost, it will reduce the consenting costs of a $20 million commercial project by about $5200.

Put off

Some changes which were meant to come into force today have been delayed because of Covid19.

A requirement for landlords to provide a statement to tenants which showed if their properties complied with heating, insulation and other standards has been deferred until December 1. All rental properties must meet the new standards by mid2024.

A law change to a controversial rule which penalises people on NZ Super if their partner has an overseas pension has been put off until November. — The New Zealand Herald