New Zealand announces an investment plan to stimulate the economy
The New Zealand Minister for Finance Grant Robertson announced a major spending package to be used for investments. Over the next five years, the government is committed to raising 12 billion New Zealand dollars (7.1 billion euros) in capital on the market out of which eight billion dollars will be earmarked for single projects related to infrastructure and transport, school and hospital buildings, regional development and environmental initiatives. Another four billion dollars will be added to the long-term capital expenditure fund.
The main portion of the investment plan, amounting to 6.8 billion New Zealand dollars, will be used for road infrastructure and transport. The individual works that will benefit from the funding have not yet been announced. 400 million dollars will be used for school buildings, 300 million for healthcare buildings, 300 million for regional development projects and 200 million for decarbonisation projects.
The five priorities for the upcoming budget were also announced, and will take into account the new benchmark for New Zealand public accounts – public well-being. The five priorities are: a fair transition towards becoming a sustainable, low-emissions economy; increasing productivity using innovative technology for which workers will have to be trained; lifting the income of the indigenous population and immigrants from the Pacific islands; reducing child poverty; promoting mental health.
