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John,
More cost of living measures kick in from today – supporting people
up and down the country. I wanted to make sure you knew about how they
could ease the pressure for you and your family.
There’s no question that things are tough right now, with
households feeling the pressure following high global inflation and
extreme weather events. We’re focused on doing what we can to
make life easier for you and your family.
From today, 1 July, we’re delivering more cost of living
support:
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Scrapping the $5 co-payment for prescription
medicines. Removing this health cost will make it cheaper and
easier for millions of people to access the medications they
need.
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Free public transport for kids aged 5 to 12 and half-price
discounts for those aged 13 to 24, rolling out from 1 July.
This could see savings of $30 a week for whānau with two children
under the age of 13.
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Supporting older New Zealanders to supplement retirement
savings with Flexi-Wage. Flexi-Wage is now available for
people aged 65+ to help them retrain for new jobs if they choose to
continue working.
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Permanently cutting the cost of public transport for Community
Services Card holders. Around one million low-income New
Zealanders can get a 50% discount on single-trip adult fares on public
transport.
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Unlocking job opportunities for Kiwis with support to get a
driver’s licence. Having a licence is a key requirement for
up to 70% of jobs. To support more Kiwis into paid work, we’re adding
more providers to help people get their driver’s licence.
These next steps build on the measures that we’ve already
put in place to make everyday life more affordable for Kiwis.
Such as supporting over a million people with the Winter Energy
Payment and rolling out over a million free school lunches a week. If
you want to know a bit more about these measures, you can read
more here.
That’s it from me for now, but over the next few weeks, I will be
on the road with our Labour team meeting with people to discuss our
plan to grow the economy and ensure that every New Zealander can get
ahead. If you do see me out and about, come and say hello!
Ngā mihi,
Carmel
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