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Summary
- What can be expected from Budget 2021?
- What provisions for healthcare, vaccine, and education is it going to provide?
- How will Budget 2021 deal with the NZ housing crisis
All eyes are fixed on the upcoming Budget announcement today at 2 pm. There are a lot of hopes riding on this Budget in New Zealand, and economists from around the world are eagerly waiting to sink their teeth into the latest reforms and updates made by the Finance Minister, Grant Robertson. This Budget is going to be reflective of the government’s plans to further help the economy recover from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
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Predictions for Budget 2021
If predictions are to be believed, the budget is going to exceed expectations., Major economic indicators - employment and GDP numbers are competing favorably as compared to other countries and the country’s economy is on a rebound.
With a drop in the national debt which came as a surprise, there was more capital available for Wellington.
Also read: Budget 2021: What did Rishi Sunak miss out?
Also read: Will NZ’s Federal Budget 2021 Be A Fine Balancing Act?
Word from the Finance Minister
Mr. Robertson is expected to shed light on how the reforms made in the budget this year are going to help New Zealand strengthen its economy and global economic position in the near future. Certain areas that the government is going to allocate the funds from the budget are public well-being as well as social services. Another area that shall require economic support is Climate change. This is because there are several benchmarks that the country is keen to set in this area in the upcoming decade. Another area where budget funds shall be targeted is the education sector.
The housing sector in New Zealand, which has been struggling to keep its head above water, is something that will require immediate attention in terms of funds and efforts. It will be interesting to see what kind of provisions the budget shall make for the same. Homelessness and not being able to afford buying first homes are major problems being faced by several local people and this is something that shall seek answers from the budget.
Updates and allocations
In an update in February, Robertson had referred to the upcoming budget as a “recovery and well-being budget”. It was announced on May 9 that NZ$118.6M would be dedicated towards women’s healthcare. On May 12, it was further announced that a sum of NZ$170M shall be set aside to help boost the salaries of kindergarten teachers. May 19 brought probably the most important announcement of the hour, there will be a sum of NZ$1.4 billion kept aside for vaccinations against COVID-19 so that everyone in the country could have access to a free vaccine and help eradicate the disease eventually.
