- By Simeon Brown, MP for Pakuranga
Over the weekend, National announced its FamilyBoost policy that will provide a childcare tax rebate to Kiwi families in need of extra support.
The cost-of-living crisis we face as a nation under the Labour Government is only expected to worsen this year, and if National is elected in October we will take immediate action to help struggling families.
Our policy will provide a 25 per cent rebate on early childhood education expenses, meaning up to $75 a week, or $3900 a year, back into the pockets of 130,000 families who need it most.
FamilyBoost will be available to families using licensed ECE providers, including kindergartens, kōhanga reo, education and care centres and licensed home-based care.
We know that families, particularly young families, are doing it tough at the moment, and National’s FamilyBoost policy in conjunction with our proposed tax relief will make a big difference.
Importantly, this policy will be entirely funded from money saved by reversing the massive consultant spending we have seen under Labour.
In my role as Public Service Spokesperson, I announced that National has committed to reducing consultant spending by $400 million a year, with FamilyBoost expected to cost around $250 million a year.
Labour currently spends about $1.7 billion a year on consultants and contractors, a huge increase since they took office in 2017. National will reduce wasteful spending and give the money back to New Zealand families.
To achieve this reduction, we will direct public sector agencies to end the culture of relying on contractors at a premium cost to do the regular job of public servants.
We will also put a stop to the costly and unnecessary restructures and mergers that Labour is obsessed with and slash the endless working groups and task forces that this government is known for.
It has been clear over the last six years that Labour is more concerned with growing the central government bureaucracy and has lost touch with the needs of everyday Kiwis.
National has a plan to support families facing a cost-of-living crisis and to ensure our Government is focussed on delivering the frontline services you need, rather than a growing bureaucracy costing Kiwis billions.
