Appropriation (2019/20 Estimates) Bill

It is an absolute delight, just to finish off in the remaining few minutes I have, to speak to the significance of this Wellbeing Budget that the Hon Grant Robertson has introduced that is world-breaking.

Before I turn to my final remarks in terms of the impact that this Budget has on Te Tai Rāwhiti, I want to make note that this approach to the Wellbeing Budget has received international acclaim from many commentators—but, in particular, from Cass Sunstein, who is a Harvard law professor and he’s, actually, also a former White House officer of information. He said that New Zealand has taken an important step in the right direction, and that for other nations it’s well worth copying New Zealand’s approach to the way in which this Budget has been delivered. I could not agree more.

When I look up to the electorate which I am proudly from, the East Coast, in practical terms what does this Budget mean? Well, in practical terms it means that when I speak to the principal of the school of Murupara Area School, a school that is decile 1 in a community that has felt left behind by the previous Government, I speak to Angela Sharples, she has just over 300 students at this school; some of those students are living in hard home environments in terms of poverty. We put children at the forefront of this Budget—that meant that for every student in a school under a decile 7, $150 per student would be provided to those schools that did not ask for a school contribution. When I spoke with the principal, Angela Sharples, from Murupara Area School, she said, “Kiri, we have not been able to ask for a donation from parents for so long, and we’ve just gone without.” Well, this Budget means, in practical terms, an additional $50,000 per annum for Angela to be able to exercise at her discretion.

In terms of what this means to the wellbeing of those children, it means that those families can feel slightly relieved that they don’t have the burden of having to scalp around for an extra few bucks to try and get those kids off to sports games. It means that those teachers that are often called upon to provide lunches don’t have to scrap around in their own personal pockets to try and find that additional resource. Murupara Area School—amongst many others in my electorate—is one of the schools that will be receiving school lunches.

Now, that to me is a benchmark of a kind, caring, and compassionate Government. I am proud to endorse this Budget—the Wellbeing Budget—to this House.