Finance Minister Steven Joyce has delivered his first Budget just four months out from the election. So what are the five big take-outs from it?

1. Tax

About 1.3 million families will get a late Christmas present – around April next year – in the form of tax cuts. Joyce’s move to raise the bottom two tax thresholds will put $10.77 a week in the pocket of anyone earning more than $22,000 a year, and $20.38 a week for anyone earning over $52,000. The Greens screamed this was classic National, giving more to the wealthy than the poor. But that’s not quite so. Yes, a person on $15,000 a year may not notice the $1.30 extra in the bank but it’s the Working For Families and accommodation supplement increases that make up for it. The upper tax rate is unchanged – a sign National is pitching into Labour’s heartland. And Joyce made no secret that there’s more to come.

2. Families

A boost to the accommodation supplement is a big win for those struggling the most and gives a leg up to those on low incomes with high housing costs. To further alleviate their housing woes, a swag of towns and

cities are reclassified, giving an extra boost to those on the supplement who live there. Some will receive up to $145 a week more towards housing costs. While Working For Families will provide an extra $9.25 a week for the first child under 16, the devil is in the detail. Shifting the abatement rate to a lower income level of $35,000 a year – with rises from 22.5 cents in the dollar to 25c – leaves some slightly worse off.

3. Radio NZ

It’s every journalist’s dream – sitting in the Budget lock-up and seeing a chunk of money dedicated to none other than your own employer. Winter won’t be so cold for the state-owned broadcaster; its eight-year funding freeze is over. An

annual boost of $2.84 million is to be invested in new technology and ‘‘improved capability’’. This comes at the same time media firms in New Zealand are going through a state of flux. A planned merger between Fairfax Media and NZME has been called off by the Commerce Commission and rumour has it MediaWorks is struggling. The lifeline to RNZ couldn’t have come at a more crucial time.

4. Health

The days in Parliament when politicians aren’t scrapping over health funding are few and far between. Health is now set to receive a record $3.9 billion injection with district health boards getting the biggest chunk. Rising cost

pressures and population growth have been dragging the health sector down and much of the cheque is set to target those areas, while mental health and social investment initiatives will also benefit. Labour has dedicated its time in Opposition to highlighting what its MPs call dire waiting lists and a lack of services. Time will tell whether the Government has got the formula right for a medical miracle.

5. September 23

In case anyone has forgotten, it’s an election year. Steven Joyce has delivered a lolly scramble but even he couldn’t keep to himself the fact that the Government might just have a few more tricks up its sleeve before voters hit the polling booths. There weren’t a heap of surprises in the

Budget, much of it had already been announced and the tax package had become a bit of a ‘‘worst-kept secret’’. With forecast surpluses rising from $2.9 billion next year to $7.2b by 2021, there’s plenty of room to move and when the finance minister also just happens to be National’s campaign manager – well, it would be a safe bet he’s got more tasty treats to tempt voters when the party bus pulls out of the campaign station.