This is my first column for Indian News in 2020 and I hope the year is off to a good start for everyone. As schools reopen and parents, teachers and children get ready to embark upon yet another school year, I’ve been reflecting on the changes our government has made to take the pressure of students and their families.
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We’ve funded the removal of school donations. This benefits nearly 430,000 students and takes a lot of pressure off their families. We have also increased school funding so that parents don’t have to pay for NCEA fees or scholarship exams.
Our school donations scheme is just one of several initiatives that form our Wellbeing Budget. We know that these initiatives will make a real difference to peoples’ lives. Some other related initiatives are rolling out a free school lunches programme that will benefit 6,000 students initially and increase to 21,000 students by the end of the year.
We are committed to pay at least the Living Wage to all school staff. We have also increased funding to have 623 new Learning Support Coordinators to start in schools this year. They will enable a much needed boost to make sure that all children and young people who need help will get theextra support they need. Our government recently announced the largest spend on school infrastructure in 25 years – a $400 million cash injection for much-needed infrastructure upgrades, including fixing classrooms and making them more modern, replacing roofing and guttering and resurfacing paved areas to make schools safer. This funding will build classrooms and new schools throughout New Zealand to accommodate an extra 100,000 students by 2030.
This investment, along with the rest of the $12 billion infrastructure investment announced by Finance Minister Grant Robertson, will also help to stimulate our economy and will create about 9000 jobs. This is great news for those in the construction sector or anyone thinking of taking up a building or other apprenticeship. As Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said, “there has never been a better time to enrol in a trade.”
Our government is also supporting youth into post-school study and meaningful employment. Last week, we announced two projects focussing on supporting youth in the Waikato region into the construction industry through work readiness programmes. The government is helping grow the construction workforce to build houses, schools, hospitals, roads and other infrastructure in New Zealand.
This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to invest in New Zealand– modernising our infrastructure, preparing for climate change and helping grow the economy. We are able to do this because we’ve managed the books wisely.
There’s a lot more that needs to be done, but we’ve made a good start.
-Priyanca Radhakrishnan (List MP based in Maungakiekie, Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister for Ethnic Communities)