We’re past the halfway point in the year now, our second calendar year in the midst of a global pandemic. Even though life carries on with levels of normality in New Zealand, events across Australia and around the world have been a good reminder that we are not out of the woods yet with COVID.
On the bright side our vaccine roll-out will be ramping up in coming weeks with the largest delivery of the Pfizer vaccine to date arriving recently. We also have well over a million doses now administered and almost 450,000 people fully vaccinated.
However, the focus of the Government cannot be only on COVID and its many challenges.
Our Labour team in Parliament is also focussed on securing our recovery, so New Zealand can emerge from the pandemic stronger than ever. It’s about keeping New Zealanders safe from COVID, accelerating our rebuild, and tackling long-term challenges like child poverty, housing and climate change.
I was pleased to see recently that another suite of changes has taken effect that will make a real difference for New Zealanders.
We’re working to lift children out of poverty by putting more money into the pockets of Kiwi families. As of 1 July 2021, main benefits go up by $20 per week, which helps put food on the table and means more families will be able to afford the essentials, like warm clothes for winter.
We’re making sure everyone has a warm, dry place to call home. Also from 1 July, all private rental properties must meet our Healthy Homes Standards within a few months of any new tenancy. This is to ensure all rental homes are safe and dry for tenants and their families.
We’re making it cheaper to buy electric cars so we can reduce our carbon footprint. This month our Clean Car Discount comes into effect, meaning New Zealanders choosing to purchase an electric or plug-in hybrid car can save up to $8,625 on their vehicle.
We’re supporting people into study and jobs with changes to reinstate the Training Incentive Allowance. This will help around 16,000 sole parents, carers, and people with disabilities on eligible benefits into higher-level study, offering greater opportunities.
Having recently had a baby, I was extremely pleased to see the announcement that we will be helping to protect children from conditions like spina bifida and neural tube defects through the fortification of non-organic bread making wheat flour with folic acid. Fortification is safe and effective and could prevent up to 240 neural tube defects over 30 years.
We have also announced increased support for midwives to address the workforce issue which has seen the workforce decrease in size while demand for midwifery services increases.
These are just some of the changes that have been announced recently as part of our ongoing work to secure our recovery.
I’m proud to be part of a team making sure that as we rebuild our economy better following COVID, while we are also tackling long-term challenges like child poverty, the health of parents and babies, housing and climate change. – Camilla Belich, Labour List MP based in Auckland.