Raft of changes as July 1 ticks over

AUCKLAND: Motorists, in particular electric car drivers, will pay lower registration fees as part of a raft of changes that come into force tomorrow.

July 1 is the implementation date for a range of government policies, including ACC motor vehicle changes, new Pharmac funding, and other payments.

Most significantly, it marks the point at which 55,000 lowpaid workers in femaledominated industries will get a pay rise.

Under a historic pay equity settlement in April, up to 55,000 people in the aged residential care, home support and disability service sectors will get up to $100 more a week.

The 20,000 workers on the minimum wage of $15.75 will have their income lifted to at least $19 an hour.

The cost of car registrations will fall from about $130 to $113 per vehicle from tomorrow, the third consecutive annual decrease. The drop is bigger for electric car registration, which will fall from around $100 to as low as $17 a year. Motorcycle registrations, on the other hand, will stay the same.

The new rates will apply for the next two years and motorists will save a total of about $113 million.

Military veterans with permanent injuries will get about $18 more a week, while childcare support for soldiers killed in conflict zones will also rise. There are understood to be about six families of dead soldiers eligible.

The drugbuying agency Pharmac’s latest round of subsidised medicines and treatments will become available on July 1.

The latest drugs to be funded include melatonin, a drug which is given to children or teenagers whose neurodevelopmental disorders affect their sleep. There are also new treatments for people with hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and lung disease.

The Government lifted Pharmac funding by $60 million in the Budget, taking its total annual funding to $870 million.

As announced earlier this week, Pharmac will also fund the chickenpox vaccine, making it free for children aged 15 months.

About 60,000 children are born each year in New Zealand and all of them will be able to get the vaccine. It will also be extended to children turning 11 from July 1 who have never been immunised against, or infected by chickenpox.

Kiwis living in Australia will get access to a new citizenship pathway from tomorrow. It is available for expatriates who arrived in Australia between February 26, 2001, and February 19, 2016, and earned more than $A53,000 ($NZ55,120) a year for five consecutive years.

The countdown begins tomorrow for earthquakeprone buildings to be assessed and upgraded, after law changes last year.