Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern delivered her first in Parliament to kick off 2022, in which she outlined the Government's policies and plans for 2022.
The full text is below.
Mr Speaker I move that this House express its confidence in the Government and commend its programme for 2022 as set out in the Prime Minister's statement.
And Mr Speaker it is with confidence in our plan that I stand before you - resolute in the job ahead of us.
And that job is clear - to lead New Zealand through this pandemic, take on the challenges we already face as a nation, strengthen our economy, and emerge stronger than before.
COVID RECORD
Mr Speaker, this year represents the third year of the COVID pandemic. And we begin with a plan to keep us safe, and help move the country forward.
Our guiding principle for the past two years has been to protect lives, and livelihoods. And that is what we've done.
- Our confirmed cases, hospitalisations and deaths have been the lowest in the OECD for each of the past two years.
- We now have one of the most highly vaccinated populations in the world with 94% of those aged 12 and over double dosed and 42% of children have now have had their first dose.
- 1.6 million New Zealanders have already received their COVID-19 booster vaccination.
And the fact that we have collectively worked together to look after one another's health, has also cushioned the blow to the economy. In fact, it's done more than that:
- Unemployment is at record lows.
- Record numbers of New Zealanders have moved off a main benefit and into work.
- And growth remains strong with record export prices for our dairy sector.
And so to the team of 5 million who made that possible, we say thank you. And let's keep going. Because we are not yet done.
OMICRON
Omicron is the next challenge we face. It is a new and difficult phase of the pandemic as New Zealanders prepare to encounter COVID-19 for the first time on a scale we have not yet experienced.
But we do so with the tools and a plan to get us through.
- That plans includes the COVID-19 Protection Framework, which uses public health measures to slow down the spread of Omicron, while still allowing businesses to open and operate.
- It includes a vaccine campaign, with a big focus on boosters which has already seen more than half of our eligible New Zealanders boosted.
- And it includes a specific plan for each stage of the Omicron outbreak, on how we'll manage contacts, increases in testing and the use of 180 million Rapid Antigen Tests we have ordered, and how we'll support critical services to continue operating when their workers may have Covid in their households.
Mr Speaker, no country is immune from Omicron's disruption. But we are working hard to avoid the worst of it and we are better prepared than most.
Boosters are our strongest weapon. Every booster strengthens our immunity and takes pressure off our health workers.
I have a simple message for New Zealanders: If you are eligible, please go get boosted today. It is the most significant thing you can do to protect your family and friends but also our hardworking nurses, doctors, paramedics and all our dedicated health workers.
Māori and Pacific health and community providers remain essential to our plan.
The Government has supported their work by investing over $250 million, including a $120 million fund to support Māori communities to fast-track vaccinations and prepare for COVID-19 in the community. And we'll continue that work in partnership.
But Mr Speaker, advice from experts is that Omicron will not be the last variant we will face this year.
It's advice the Opposition chooses to ignore. They declared 1 December freedom day, the day that the borders should open. Even when the World Health Organisation had declared Omicron a variant of concern and the booster campaign had barely begun. They claim that they are ready to manage the pandemic, because they have declared it over.
They were wrong then and they are wrong now.
It's not over. But that doesn't mean we cannot move forward. And keep making progress. And so we are.
This year begins our reconnection with the world. Mr Speaker you would have already heard me announce the phases of our reopening plan that will see those already eligible to travel to New Zealand, able to come in and self-isolate beginning with the first step in less than three weeks' time.
This is an important moment as we reconnect with family and friends, as business access the skilled labour they need, and exporters more easily connect with important markets.
New Zealand is in demand, and this year, we meet that head on.
But Mr Speaker - everything we step into this year requires planning and preparation.
PREPARING FOR WINTER
And here is where we will take the very best of our Covid response to address our other challenges.
The Ministry of Health and District Health Boards are now preparing to reduce the impact of seasonal illnesses on our health system. As New Zealand reconnects with the world, seasonal influenza will likely re-emerge. We need to prepare. And here's how we will.
First, we will deliver an influenza immunisation programme to maximise uptake for at-risk New Zealanders.
Using the expertise and infrastructure generated from the COVID-19 vaccination programme, we will deliver high rates of vaccination for our elderly, immunocompromised and anyone else at risk.
This is not all we can do.
We know the importance of staying home when you're sick, and we've made that easier with workers now eligible for 10 days sick leave to reduce illness in the workplace.
We know the importance of our kids being present in our schools and early learning centres, so we're working hard to make them as safe as possible by offering vaccination to 5-11 year olds, maximising natural ventilation and investing in air filtration machines.
But it's the place we all spend the most time that requires the most investment.
We need healthier homes. Warmer homes. Drier homes. Homes that don't make our tamariki sick.
- That's why our warmer Kiwi Homes programme has delivered almost 80,000 insulation and heating installs in low-income homes since 2018. And by the end of this financial year we'll accelerate the rollout of insulation and heating installs, delivering 30,000 more warm dry homes.
- We are pleased to continue this work with the Green Party.
- We're also going to roll out the Healthy Homes Initiative to nine additional regions - which means more insulation, curtains, beds, bedding, minor repairs, floor coverings, ventilation, and heating sources to decrease hospitalisations and keep our kids well.
And on top of this, we'll get on with building more housing, and continuing to overcome the housing crisis we inherited.
Kāinga Ora and Community Housing Providers will deliver over 2000 additional public housing places, adding to the 8700 delivered since November 2017.
Whai Kāinga Whai Oranga and the Māori Infrastructure Fund will also see the delivery of approximately 1000 new homes, repairs to 700 homes, and 2700 additional infrastructure enabled sites. Together these represent the largest investment ever in Māori housing.
BUILDING A BETTER HEALTH SYSTEM
But housing represents just one of the many challenges we faced before Covid.
Our health system was in desperate need of reform.
It's not right that the care you get in New Zealand can vary so much depending on where you live.
One of our top priorities this year is the abolition of District Health Boards and the establishment of Health New Zealand and the Māori Health Authority to deliver a genuine national health service for all New Zealanders.
We want all New Zealanders to live longer and healthier lives, which is why the Māori Health Authority is absolutely key. We all know the dire statistics:
- Māori die at twice the rate as non-Māori from cardiovascular diseases.
- Māori tamariki have a mortality rate one-and-a-half times the rate found in non-Māori children.
- Māori are more likely to be diagnosed and die from cancer.
- And Māori die on average 7 years earlier than non-Māori.
We must turn these stats around, and doing the same old things won't cut it anymore. Now some have called our plans separatist, when in fact the opposite is true. This is about reaching the equality we currently do not have.
Mr Speaker, we are also going to establish a new Public Health Agency to ensure we are better equipped to fight future outbreaks and pandemics.
We will also better support the estimated 1.1 million disabled people in New Zealand through the new Ministry for Disabled People, stand-alone accessibility legislation that identifies, prevent, and removes barriers to participation, and the national rollout of the Enabling Good Lives approach which puts the voice of disabled people and their families at the heart of decision making.
This is work that's time has come.
MENTAL HEALTH
Mr Speaker, if there is another challenge that COVID has further highlighted, it's mental health.
I was speaking to a medical practitioner recently who conveyed to me the additional appointments they were encountering with people who expressed increased anxiety and depression either caused or exacerbated by the pandemic.
This is all the more reason to continue the rollout of primary mental health services in New Zealand and increasing access and choice of mental health and addiction support.
We have established new primary and community mental health and addiction services in general practice, as well as kaupapa Māori, Pacific and youth-specific services.
Together these services had delivered over 280,000 sessions since the programme began in July 2019, and provided support to over 27,000 people in between July and September 2021.
By the end of this year, 2.7 million enrolled New Zealanders will have access to integrated primary mental health and addiction care through general practices.
That is a step change in how New Zealanders access mental health services and brings the delivery of mental health into the place where most people get support for their health needs.
This year we will expand the successful Mana Ake scheme that provides mental health and resilience support for children in years 1-8 to 24,000 of our most vulnerable children and young people in Northland, Counties Manukau, Bay of Plenty, Lakes and the West Coast regions.
Two communities that have particularly high rates of burnout and stress are small business owners and rural communities. COVID-19 has exacerbated this with ongoing uncertainty and isolation. Rural communities also face particular challenges accessing mental health support.
We are committed to working with small business groups and the rural sector to develop better support for mental health needs.
OUR ECONOMIC PLAN MOVING FORWARD
Mr Speaker, in the face of two years of pandemic disruption New Zealand businesses and workers have proven to be resilient, innovative and highly adaptable.
New Zealand has weathered the COVID disruption better than many of our key trading partners.
New Zealand's economy grew 4.9 percent over the last year, outperforming most of the OECD, with our primary sector obtaining record export prices, and a construction boom underpinned by our infrastructure programme, and strong support for new housing.
But that is not the limit of our ambition. Because as I said last week, in our Covid recovery we must not look to a return to business as usual. We are better than that.
In fact, we were elected to address the challenges that have held too many back for too long.
That's why our economic plan is to build a high wage, low carbon economy that provides economic security in good times and bad.
- It is focussed on increasing the value of our exports and developing new markets
- Investing in skills and new technology
- Modernising infrastructure, and
- Research and innovation to drive productivity, reduce emissions and increase wages.
Let's break each of those elements down.
TRADE
As the border opens, New Zealand exporters will be able to reconnect with partners face-to-face.
We'll build on this and roll out a proactive programme of re-engaging with high priority international markets. New Zealand is in demand, and we will support our exporters to make the most of it.
New Zealand will sign a Free Trade Agreement with the United Kingdom
We will continue to work towards concluding a free trade agreement with the European Union
And I will lead trade delegations and trade-supporting visits to key markets in Europe, the United States, Australia and Asia this year.
SKILLS
Mr Speaker, as a Labour government, building skills and training opportunities is a key part of our agenda.
It not only links in to our wider plans on infrastructure, it also underpins and enables a productive, high wage and innovative economy.
Historically, we have failed to train the workforces we need. COVID laid that bare.
We can and will develop talent here.
We are already well under way with the reform of vocational training in this country.
And you can see it, not just in the six new industry-governed Workforce Development Councils, but in the numbers.
- Our investment in fees-free apprenticeships and targeted training has seen more than 175,000 people take up these learning opportunities since July 2020, including over 80,000 apprentices.
- The Apprenticeship Boost Initiative has so far helped employers keep over 40,000 early-stage apprentices employed and training towards their qualifications, despite the impact of COVID
- Mana in Mahi, a programme that supports young people to obtain trades qualifications and enter into lasting employment is going from strength to strength with 4,446 placements since 2018.
And all of this means we are much better placed to roll out another crucial plank of our economic plan - building new and much-needed infrastructure.
INFRASTRUCTURE
Mr Speaker, historical underinvestment in infrastructure has been a handbrake on our economy.
- That's why we are planning for the next 30 years, not just the next three.
- That is why we are investing $57.3 billion in infrastructure over the next five years.
- It's why we are investing in modernising our schools, delivering more than 22,000 additional student places through new or upgraded classrooms already, with another 10,000 this year.
- It's why we will continue to rebuild our health system with 24 construction projects due to be completed this year in our health system, including the Wellington Children's Hospital, refurbished child and maternity facilities in Timaru, and new mobile dental clinics across Hawke's Bay, Wairarapa and Lakes regions.
- It's why we'll enabling more housing, providing New Zealanders with greater choice and tackling congestion in the transport system, roll out new telecommunications and energy infrastructure to prepare the economy for the future, and Mr Speaker it's why we will fix the issue of persistent under investment in our water services.
Mr Speaker, I have said before that when we look back on this period in our country's history, I don't want us to just reflect on how we weathered the storm of a pandemic. But what we built after.
Our economy cannot afford to return to business as usual, because the status quo is unsustainable.
That's why tackling climate change will be a core part of our economic strategy.
Climate change must not overwhelm us, in fact, it is our greatest opportunity for new jobs and higher wages.
For a country already earning a premium from our clean, green and innovative image, there is an opportunity to use that natural advantage to create new jobs in new industries. It will also reduce New Zealand's reliance on global energy prices.
Other countries are moving to compete for and seize these opportunities. New Zealand cannot afford to be left behind. Not economically or morally. Not when the future growth of our exports will be built on a credible plan to bend our emissions curve and meet our targets.
Mr Speaker, this year:
- Our first Emissions Reduction Plan will put innovation and clean technology at the heart of our economic transition.
- We'll continue to support businesses to reduce their energy costs through the Government Investment in Decarbonising Industry Fund which replaces industrial process heaters to low emissions alternatives and has already reduced lifetime emissions by 6.6 million tonnes.
- Mr Speaker since the Clean Car Discount came into effect the number of new electric vehicles being bought each month has tripled. In fact more electric vehicles were registered in New Zealand in the six months following the introduction of the rebate than in 2017, 2018, 2019, or 2020.
- And alongside the Clean Car Discount and Clean Car Standards, the Low Emission Transport Fund will begin supporting businesses to pilot new low emission transport technology.
- We will see the continued roll out of the Green Investment Fund of which we have quadrupled the amount it has available to invest in the low carbon technologies of the future.
- The Venture Capital Fund will invest in start-ups and we will progress the policy work needed to support the export of green hydrogen.
- Working with the Green Party, we will finalise New Zealand's waste strategy, and take steps to collect, refurbish and recycle products such as electric vehicle batteries.
- And we'll support more farmers to adopt existing measures and technologies to reduce on-farm emissions and invest in research to provide new ways to reduce methane emissions.
Climate change is a challenge we cannot and will not postpone, and just like child poverty, housing, and mental health, it sits firmly on this government's agenda just as it did before, and during this pandemic.
Mr Speaker, New Zealanders have entrusted the government with the responsibility of bringing the country through a crisis.
And we have and will continue to do just that.
But we will do more than that:
- We will take on our challenges
- We will provide stability
- We will provide a united team
- And a singular focus on a recovery that even after a crisis, leaves New Zealand better than we found it.
