New Zealand / Politics

Budget 2022 at a glance: What you need to know

14:35 pm on 19 May 2022

There's a lot of spending flying around in Budget 2022 - here are the main expenses in an easy-to-read list.

Finance Minister Grant Robertson Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver

Cost of living: $1b package

  • $814m for a $350 per person cost-of-living payment for individuals earning under $70k, equating to $27 a week per person over three months from 1 August for about 2.1m people,
  • Funding to continue half-price public transport fares for further two months, plus ongoing concession for Community Services cardholders,
  • $235m to continue fuel excise and road user charge reductions for a further two months
  • $73m for 26,500 more insulation and heating retrofits for low-income homeowners
  • Urgent supermarket legislation to ban covenants over land as a barrier to supermarkets accessing new sites and restricting competition
  • Child support payments passed to sole-parent beneficiaries as income instead of being retained by government

Health: $11.1 billion across the forecast period

  • $1.3b for health capital investments, including $572m for Whangārei Hospital, a further $78.3m for Hillmorton mental health project in Canterbury, and initial redevelopment planning for Nelson Hospital
  • Record ongoing annual funding boost for Health NZ: $1.8b in year one, plus $1.3 billion in year two
  • $488m for strengthening primary and community care
  • $299m for Māori health services
  • Remediation of DHB deficits (planned at $550m in '21/'22
  • Pharmac to get extra $191 million over the next two years
  • Three alcohol and drug treatment courts made permanent
  • $166.1m over four years for ambulance services including adding 48 ambulances and 13 other vehicles, 248 paramedics and frontline staff, and 22 call centre staff
  • $90.7m over four years for air ambulance services
  • $102m boost for community healthcare
  • $86m for GPs in high-needs areas
  • $76m for training and primary care specialists
  • $39 million over four years for Hauora Māori workforce development
  • Already announced $100m for mental health, and $90m for rolling out in-school Mana Ake mental health and wellbeing programme
  • $220m operating and $100m capital for investments in data and digital infrastructure for the reforms and health systems
  • Dental needs grants increased from $300 to $1000
  • Piki programme for free therapy in Wellington region extended

Climate

Education: $2b operating, $855m capital funding

  • $293m operating and $8m capital funding for replacing the decile system with the new Equity Index
  • $184m increase in school operating grants
  • $777m in capital investment including $219m for replacing furniture and equipment, $385m for building and refurbishing 280 classrooms at more than 40 schools, $88m for the Christchurch School Rebuild, $105m for Māori-medium kura
  • $270m operating and $5m capital funding for pay parity for education and care, and kindergarten teachers
  • Already announced $230m boost for apprenticeships, and support for Mana in Mahi and Māori Trades and Training Fund

Justice cluster*: $2.7b total operating, $65m capital funding

  • $190m to strengthen legal aid scheme
  • Already announced funding to maintain police officer-to-population ratio
  • $92m operating, $2m capital funding for serious and organised crime harm minimisation strategy
  • $165m operating, $21m capital funding for Tactical Response
  • $47m for Te Ao Marama District Court model
  • $34m operating, $13m capital funding for 15 March firearms commitments
  • $28m operating, $2m capital for supporting bereaved families and whānau in the coronial system
  • $141m for democratic processes including Electoral Commission funding for elections
  • $4m to strengthen the Independent Police Conduct Authority
  • Already announced $115m operating funding for family and sexual violence prevention

* This now includes Ministry of Justice, New Zealand Police, the Department of Corrections, the Serious Fraud Office, Crown Law Office

Natural Resources cluster: $1b operating, $12m capital funding **

  • $179m total operating funding for Department of Conservation
  • $32m operating, $2m capital funding for animal health and welfare regulation
  • $92m operating, $2m capital for Biodiversity Strategy
  • $19m incentives for biodiversity support by private landowners
  • $179m for resource management reforms
  • $118m operating, $5m capital funding for advisory services on rural land use

** Includes Ministry for the Environment, Department of Conservation, Ministry for Primary Industries

Māori and Pacific: $580m package across health, social and justice sectors

  • $25m for Māori cadetships
  • $18m for Pacific STEAM futures
  • $8m for Tupu Aotearoa employment and training services
  • $10m for Te Ringa Hapai Whenua Infrastructure Fund
  • $26m for Progressive Procurement for Māori businesses
  • $40m for Māori media
  • $28m for protecting appropriate use of matauranga Māori and other taonga
  • $167m for Whānau Ora Commissioning Agencies
  • $168m for Hauora Māori (Maori Health Authority) Commissioning of health services
  • $16m to expand the Māori and Public Housing Renewable Energy Fund

Disability support: $934m for disability system transformation

  • $735m for disability service sustainability, with additional demand expected
  • $100m for rolling out Enabling Good Lives approach allowing service users to budget their own services
  • $108m to establish the new Ministry for Disabled People and support operations

Housing

  • $221m for Affordable Housing Fund
  • $1b to support public and transitional housing
  • $355m for redesigning emergency housing system
  • $75m for Homelessness Action Plan

Covid-19

  • Budget 2022 sets aside $1.2b for immediate Covid-related public health needs
  • $58.4b of the $61.6b Covid-19 Response and Recovery Fund (CRRF) has been allocated, leaving $3.2b. The CRRF will be closed and remaining funding repurposed, with $1.2 for urgent public health needs and $1b for cost of living relief

Broadcasting, arts and culture

  • $370m over four years operating, $306m capital funding for the new Public Media Entity
  • Funding for NZSO, Royal NZ Ballet, Heritage NZ, Te Papa, Nga Taonga Sound and Vision, Matariki celebrations, museums, Waitangi National Trust Board

Business and industry

  • $100m for a Business Growth Fund for SMEs
  • Continuation of the $200m Regional Strategic Partnership Fund
  • $60 to progress Income Insurance Scheme design
  • Industry Transformation plans:

  • $37m for Construction Sector Accord Transformation plan
  • $30m for Advanced Manufacturing Industry Transformation plan
  • $5m for Agritech Industry Transformation plan
  • $20m for Digital Technologies Transformation plan
  • $40m for Primary Industry Transformation plan

Other

  • Further funding to progress Auckland Light Rail
  • $349m for rail networks and rolling stock
  • $10.9b over five years contribution to the NZ Superannuation Fund, greater than required
  • $60m to improve broadband infrastructure in worst-served regions
  • $30m for Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) cybersecurity agency
  • New parliamentary accommodation
  • Air New Zealand's recapitalisation plan to maintain the Government's 51% shareholding
  • Replacement facility for Te Papa spirit collection
  • Purpose-built facility for Whangarei Airport's Rescue and Firefighting Service
  • Funding for Chatham Islands exports and imports vessel Southern Tiare
  • Upgrading courts' case management system
  • Upgrading satellite GPS accuracy

Totals and fiscal balancing

  • $61.9b total for infrastructure upgrades 2022-'26
  • $6.156b in new operating spending from Budget 2022 over five years, coming to $5.9b net
  • $30.609b total operating expenditure for 2022-24

See RNZ's full coverage of the 2022 Budget: Find all the Budget announcements, reaction and analysis here