Hi John,

This afternoon, I delivered this year’s Budget, which sets out the next steps in our plan for a secure future for New Zealand.

There’s a lot of important investments in the Budget (which you can read all about here) but in this email, I want to highlight one key initiative – our cost of living package.

We know things are tough for many Kiwis right now, as global inflation affects prices here at home. We’ve already put in place a range of measures, including our 1 April increases and the Winter Energy Payment, to help ease the pressure, and with this Budget, we’re rolling out extra support.

Here’s a quick overview of our cost of living package:

We’re introducing a new short term payment to help more people pay their bills. Around 2.1 million people who earn up to $70,000 and don’t already receive the Winter Energy Payment will qualify for this.
We’re extending our fuel tax cut, reduced road user charges and half price public transport until the end of August.
We’re permanently halving public transport fares for people on low incomes.
We’re taking action on supermarkets to ensure we’re all paying a fair price at the till.

You can check out all the details here.

This package includes practical measures that together, will make a real difference for millions of people as we come through a tough period. We’re able to make these investments because our careful economic management through the pandemic means we’re recovering faster than almost anywhere else in the world, and our economy is in a strong position.

The other big focus for today is a record investment in health and Pharmac to go with our climate action investments announced on Monday. Check out all the details for more on how these initiatives will help to support Kiwis and grow our economy - you can find a full overview of Budget 2022 here.

For now though, I hope today’s measures help to ease the pressure on you and your family as together, we build a high wage, low emissions economy that gives security for all.

Thanks,
Grant Robertson