It was incredibly exciting to be part of the Government delivering the Growth Budget in Parliament today alongside our incredible Finance Minister Nicola Willis. This is a budget which will grow our economy and get Kiwis ahead.
The Growth Budget 2025 is about growing the economy so Kiwis can get ahead, with record investments in Health and Education!
Here are some things we’re doing for you.
- Stopping wasteful spending to bring down interest rates and inflation and get the books in order.
- Backing Kiwi businesses to grow through Investment Boost which makes it easier for tradies, farmers, and small business owners to invest in new assets to increase productivity and lift wages.
- Increasing KiwiSaver balances by lifting contribution rates, so Kiwis have more savings at retirement, and more opportunities to invest in New Zealand for growth.
- Growing tourism and encouraging foreign investment.
- Investing in new schools, roads and hospitals.
links for more info:
BUDGET 2025
Funding boost Hawke's Bay councils for post-Cyclone local road recovery
Our government remains committed to Hawke's Bay communities working to rebuild lives and neighbourhoods.
The Budget provides $219 million additional funding to help get these local roads repaired as quickly as possible.
The NZ Transport Agency will distribute the funds to local councils to complete recovery works across affected local roads. This work is vital to restoring access to goods, services and employment opportunities to impacted communities in the North Island.
Five councils will likely receive a share of the $219 million, across a three-year period from 2026/27:
• Central Hawke’s Bay District Council
• Gisborne District Council
• Hastings District Council
• Napier City Council
• Wairoa District Council
We know a resilient transport network in the East Coast and Hawke’s Bay regions will help deliver the infrastructure communities need to grow their businesses, get our kids to school, and ensure goods get from A to B efficiently.
KiwiSaver changes to encourage savings
Budget 2025 improves KiwiSaver to encourage Kiwis to save more for their first home and retirement, while making the scheme more fiscally sustainable.
To lift savings and provide greater security for Kiwis, we’re raising the default rate of employee and matching employer KiwiSaver contributions from 3 to 4 per cent of salary and wages, phased in over three years. People will have the choice of remaining on the 3 per cent rate if they choose.
Investment Boost: Tax Incentive to Lift Growth
The Treasury and Inland Revenue estimate Investment Boost will improve economic growth, lifting New Zealand’s GDP by 1 per cent, wages by 1.5 per cent and our capital stock by 1.6 per cent over the next 20 years, with around half these gains expected in the first five years.
Investment Boost starts today, May 22, and applies to new assets purchased in New Zealand as well as new and used assets imported from overseas. It includes commercial buildings but excludes land, residential buildings, and assets already in use in New Zealand.
Record investment in health delivery
Continued record investment in health to improve everyday health services across New Zealand.
New and improved urgent and after-hours care so it’s easier for Kiwis to see a doctor when and where they need to.
Extending prescription lengths to 12-months, meaning less time and money spent visiting the doctor.
12-month prescriptions put money in patients’ pockets
New Zealanders will soon be able to receive 12-month prescriptions for their medicines, delivering savings to patients on long-term medications.
From the first quarter of 2026, prescribers will be able to issue prescriptions for up to 12 months if it is clinically appropriate and safe to do so. While patients will still collect their medication from a pharmacy every three months, they will no longer need to return to their doctor for a new prescription each time.
Budget 2025 allocates $91 million over four years to support this change. The funding will cover the cost of additional medicines, as more are expected to be dispensed.
Increased support for families
Budget 2025 changes Working for Families to better target help to low and middle-income families with children.
About 142,000 families will receive an average $14 a fortnight extra from Working for Families. The vast majority have an annual family income under $100,000.
These changes are being delivered through changes to the abatement threshold. The abatement threshold is the income level at which Working for Families entitlements begin to reduce.
Largest boost to Learning Support in a generation
The Government is delivering the most significant investment in learning support in a generation to better support Kiwi kids to thrive at school.
Key investments include substantial annual increases to teacher aide hours, building up to over 2 million additional teacher aide hours per year, from 2028; Learning Support Co-ordinators for all schools with Year 1-8 students; expanding early intervention services from early learning through to end of year 1; and an historic overhaul of the Ongoing Resourcing Scheme (ORS) funding model to ensure that demand for the service is met with guaranteed funding so all students with high and complex needs who are verified for ORS receive the support they need.
Rates relief for up to 66,000 more SuperGold cardholders
Budget 2025 will help up to 66,000 more SuperGold Cardholders with their rates payments
The Government will introduce a new income abatement threshold to assist SuperGold Cardholders from July 1. The income abatement threshold to be eligible for the maximum rebate for SuperGold Cardholders and their households will be lifted from $31,510 to $45,000 – about the rate for a couple receiving superannuation. The maximum rebate for the scheme will also increase from $790 to $805.
Parents to step up for unemployed teenagers
Parents rather than the state will be responsible for unemployed 18- and 19-year-olds who cannot support themselves under planned benefit changes.
From July 2027, eligibility for Jobseeker Support and the Emergency Benefit will be tightened for single unemployed 18- and 19-year-olds by introducing a parental assistance test.
Young people can’t expect to go automatically onto a benefit, and parents must be ready to help. This change strengthens financial incentives to enter employment, education or training.
OUT AND ABOUT
Major progress on my Members' Bill
I am excited my Social Media Age-Restricted User's Members' Bill is now part of the Government’s work programme.
My Members' Bill will remain in the biscuit tin while Minister Erica Stanford leads a government piece of work. This is about protecting our kids from the harms of social media.
Being inspired!
I loved connecting with trail-blazing Rotorua mayor, Tania Tapsell at our National Party Regional Conference.
Tania became the first Māori woman elected to the role and is the first known NZ Mayor to have a baby while in office. She is an inspirational woman.
It was fascinating to hear her leadership experiences in a panel at our conference.
Another successful blanket drive
Hawke's Bay people you sure are a generous lot.
A big thank you to everyone who came to our office in the cold and the rain to donate blankets for our annual blanket drive.
We were blown away by the response.
Thanks to Ian and the Christian Lovelink volunteer team for their hard work every year to collect blankets and keep kids and their whanau warm.
PM in town
It was great to have our Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in Hawke’s Bay, seeing our incredible industries and exports, and visiting the teams at Rockit Apple Global, TUMU Timbers, and Building Futures.
These businesses are driving innovation, economic growth and creating jobs and opportunity in Hawke’s Bay.
Infrastructure on track
We had some big announcements for Hawke’s Bay by our Transport and Housing Minister Chris Bishop!
150 Social Houses for families
Stage 2 of the Hawke’s Bay Expressway to Start
Our region has so much potential, and we must continue to work together to create more jobs and opportunity for our region.
Serving the heart of rural community
It was great to spend time with Bruce Stephenson and Willie at Stephenson Transport Limited learning about some of the challenges for stock truck businesses.
We spoke about our government’s action to build better roads, maintain roads and our action to stop the blanket planting of Forestry on our best food producing country.
Willie also gave a double thumbs up for us reversing the speed limit back to 100km across the Napier/Taupo Road.
Stephenson Transport has been a family owned, rural transport operator since 1936 and now has over 50 trucks transporting stock across the country - a business which is very much at the heart of Rural CHB! Well done to Bruce and the team!
In the media
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I look forward to seeing you out in our Tukituki community soon.
Regards, Catherine