Boosts for training parents, homeowner

On July 1 this year the Government made important changes that will help many thousands of New Zealanders. Many are closely tied to the Government’s Covid economic response as we help New Zealand recover and rebuild following the Covid-19 pandemic.

We substantially ramped up the training part of our economic response to Covid-19 on July 1. Training and retraining opportunities are now available to New Zealanders, for free, over the next two years in carefully selected trades.

We need our tradies more than ever right now, especially with construction and infrastructure playing such a large role in our economic recovery. For people who might have lost their previous job to Covid, the Government’s making it easier than ever to retrain and get moving again.

As part of that programme we’re also bringing in a boost for employers, allowing them to access up to $16,000 to help them hire a new apprentice or to retain an apprentice they already have. Once that programme is up and running in August, it’ll also help employers keep their workers on the job, helping us rebuild faster and better.

There’s good news for homeowners and DIY enthusiasts, too. We’ve reduced the Building Levy on July 1. And soon we’ll also be further relaxing the requirements around people needing building consents for simple additions such as car ports or sleepouts. Both these changes help remove barriers to homeowners improving their homes, and employing people in the construction industry to help them.

As we promised in 2017, we have now taken the final step to increase Paid Parental Leave up to 26 weeks. We also increased the maximum payment rate by $20 a week.

Paid Parental Leave really matters, because it helps new babies and their parents to bond as a family during those crucial first few months of life. A close bond with baby in those early months helps set baby up to thrive and succeed for years afterwards, and I’m proud that our Government has helped strengthen those bonds across the country.

Finally, we’ve delivered on long overdue pay increases for our qualified Early Childhood

Education teachers, helping them as they give the next generation the best possible start in life.

All these changes are part of the Government’s plan to make sure we’re rebuilding a better New Zealand postCovid than the one we inherited.

We’re in this privileged position because of New Zealand’s successful health response to Covid19 so far. There’s no playbook for this kind of pandemic, but New Zealand’s team of five million worked together and made big sacrifices so that we could get the virus under control here faster than in many other countries.

That means we can get moving on our economic recovery faster than other countries, too. The changes we’ve brought in at the start of this month help with that recovery and help us rebuild a better New Zealand.

There’s no playbook for this kind of pandemic, but New Zealand’s team of five million

worked together and made big sacrifices so that we could get the virus under control here faster than in many

other countries.