June 30, 2025 • 9 mins
The Finance Minister says changes to the FamilyBoost scheme are on their way - after Cabinet made decisions today.
The Government previously said it would announce changes to the childcare tax policy in June.
It's been admitted the number of families initially thought eligible was wrong.
Nicola Willis says there are two changes and they apply to fees incurred from tomorrow - with claims able to be made from October.
"The first is to increase the amount of rebate, which will have the effect that people on lower middle incomes with lower rates of fees will be able to get a bigger rebate."
Willis says the second is to reduce the abatement rate - so families earning more than 140-thousand dollars will be able to claim a bit more.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
And with us right now is Nichola Willis the Finance minister.
(00:02):
Heinikeler Hi, Heather, what are we going to do about
all of the landlords who are not meeting the Healthy
Homes standards by tomorrow?
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Well, they're expected to be meeting the standards, and if
they're not, their tenants have the ability to make a
complaint about that and can expect them to meet those standards.
They've had years to get around to it. Heither, And
in fact, from twenty twenty two they've already been required
to comply with the standards whenever they have a new
(00:31):
or renewed tenancy. So the change now is simply that
all homes, even where tenancies haven't changed, are now required
to comply. And this has had, as I say, many
years of leading. So we've got complying got landloords already
so that there can be both investigations by the Tenancy
Tribunal and individual tenants can ask for inspections should they
(00:53):
wish to.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
Okay, and we do have people going around do we
just checking randomly?
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Look, I'm not sure that that is the I think
that this is more a case of tenants are informed
about their rights and if they think their landlord isn't
meeting the standards, they can take action.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
Okay, how many houses do you because what by my
calculations at a conservative levels, about one hundred and eighty
thousand houses that don't meet the standards? You reckon, that's
about right.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
Well, I don't know what the answer to that is,
because actually all landlords are expected that they should be
meeting the standards now, and tenants have a right to
expect that if they're renting rental property and New Zealand
those standards are being met.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Yeah, I just reckon that a lot of them are
going to try it on, don't you think.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Well, the attendants should feel empowered that those are the
rules and they have a right to have them enforced. Now.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
Aproposal letters that you sent to the supermarkets last week,
how many supermarkets do you, reckon don't have those electronic
price tags.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Well, that's why I've written the letters to find out
actually what is the state of the systems across the country.
Of course, part of what prompted me doing it was
that a couple of big packenslaves in Auckland pled guilty
to charges of misleading pricing in response to a Commerce
Commission prosecution. There are other persecutions progressing, There are investigations underway.
(02:09):
My concern is a simple one. It shouldn't be that
there has to be a complaint and a prosecution for
the stuff to be got right. And secondly, if one
mistake is made for one customer, I think that the
correction should then occur immediately for all customers, not just
the one who was smart enough to see the discrepancy
on the receipt and make the complaint. So that's what
(02:32):
that system.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
How would you possibly.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
Well, if you've got a modern electronic system, if I
come and say, hey, look the pizza was meant to
be seven dollars and actually you charge me nine, they
should instantly be able to use an electronic system to
correct that across all tills in the supermarket, so no
one else is impacted.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
You mean reasonable? If you and I both bought a
punnet of tomatoes, let's say, and you got overcharge pointed
it out, and I'd been over charged and not realized,
they need to track me down and and then refund me.
You're not meaning that, what.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
No, But what you could do is have a really
clear refund policy that says upfront everywhere, for every customer
to know if you are charged more than we said,
not only will we refund you the money, but you
can keep the product. That's the standard that we hold
ourselves to. I think that would be reasonable.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
Do they not all have a clear refund policy or
they don't have that refund policy?
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Well, this is why we bring sunlight to these things either.
Because with Sunlight, I'm advised that the major supermarkets are
now intending to bring out these refund policies and make
them clearer to their.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
Con They already doing that.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
In some cases, but in other cases, no, they were not.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
I'm waiting for your big I mean, like, I appreciate
that you're doing this stuff and you know whatever, but
this is not the big supermarket action. That's what I'm
waiting for. When's that coming?
Speaker 2 (03:55):
Ah, Well, I will have more to say about that
in the future. As you'reiate, it is not simple to
get someone to open up additional supermarkets in New Zealand.
From a computeritor, that's my ultimate destination, but I'm very
realistic that on the way through, while we are looking
at the various things we can do and make it
(04:16):
easier for people to expand in New Zealand on the
way through, people have to put up with the existing structure,
are you so I will deal with restoring attention to.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
Well doing structural stuff by the end of this year.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
Well. As I've said, the first thing is making sure
that if there are legal or regulatory barriers that are
making it difficult for a grocery sector that would challenge
the existing incumbents to expand or to set up, I'm
very willing to deal with those barriers and I have
had detailed feedback by the end of the number of submitters. Yes,
(04:48):
there will be.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
Changes, Okay by the end of this year, and by.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
The end of this year you will be hearing more
from me on what our next steps are to remove.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
The reason I'm asking you that is because we talk
about supermarkets a lot and I'm not getting anyatisfaction here right.
There's a lot of talk and there's not a lot
of actual action that's happening.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
You can appreciate that, well, I think that the supermarkets
themselves have obligations to change things in real time too.
And you know, Mike Costking has taken issue with me
pointing out that butter is half the price at Costco. Well,
my point there is this costco. Yes, they're making a
decision to do some lost leading potentially to get people
(05:26):
in the door, But actually any supermarket at any time
could make that choice to make some everyday staples a
bit cheaper for New Zealanders. And I think that they
have that choice this week.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
Yeah, but the way they probably do to be fair,
I mean, they just choose to lost lead on the
spaghetti when you want them to lost lead on the butter.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Well, no, it's not so much that I want them
to lost lead on a particular product. It's that the
evidence internationally is that we still have some of the
most expensive groceries in the world. And if you were
to ask most New Zealand shoppers, have you noticed a
big fallen prices any of the products that you regularly
need to go for? I don't think you find many
people who so they have. And so my point is
(06:06):
the supermarkets have a choice every day about the way
that they price and offer groceries to New Zealanders, and
I'm not going to be ashamed about continuing to ask
them to put their best foot forward.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
Okay, now, have you got any changes to announce on
the Family Boost?
Speaker 2 (06:21):
Yes? I do. Cabinet made decisions on that. Today we
will be making changes to the settings that will allow
people from one October when they make their claims to
claim a bit more, and that will apply for fees
incurred from one July tomorrow, and the changes are twofold.
(06:42):
The first is to increase the amount of rebate, which
will have the effect that people on lower middle incomes
with lower rates of fees will be able to get
a bigger rebate. And the second will be to reduce
what's known as the abatement rate. Essentially, at the moment,
families earning more than one hundred and fourty few thousand
have a dramatic drop off and how much they're able
(07:03):
to claim, and we're going to adjust that a bit
so they can claim a bit more. But I'll be
making a detailed announcement about it imminently. How eminently, oh well,
I'm not going to tell you precise timing. We will
have something to say in more detail. But I want
everyone listening to know that if you've got children in
early childhood education, chances are if you're already eligible for
(07:26):
family boosts, the amount of your rebate could be increasing.
And if you are just on the cusp of eligibility,
you may now be eligible. So from one July, keep
those receipts.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
How many people do you think will get the full amount?
Speaker 2 (07:40):
Well, I ida, now as you can imagine a lot
more cautious about those estimates. And they point out that
the best that they can do is really guess because
it depends on whose plans.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
At the moment, it's only two hundred and fifty people
are which is pitiful.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
Well, as I say, we're going to increase the amount
of rebate that people are eligible for, So that means
that the overall number of people who can get that
maximum seventy five dollars will increase.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
To two hundred and fifty one. Will it be?
Speaker 2 (08:10):
It will be, It will be more, it will be more. Heather.
The changes that we've made, we've been advised, will result
in thousands more people getting family boost payments and thousands
of people getting hundreds of dollars.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
Nikola, it's coming at yeast payments. What's the price per
square meter of the wall carpet?
Speaker 2 (08:29):
Oh my gosh, I knew you'd ask, And do you
know my team said, should we try and wheedle it
out of caying or so you can tell here that,
and I said, no, this is now a point of
principle when Crown entities sign commercial contracts and they do
not disclose those facts to ministers, Ministers don't then go
behind the bike. You can say, please, can you tell
me so I can tell here that.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
So old mate who was just saying we need all
the sunlight is now on a point of principle not
wanting any sunlight on this.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
Well, it's just that it's not appropriate for me to
be going into the ins and outs of commercially see
set of contracts. But you are right to put sunlight
on this, which is they have confirmed for me that
it is no more than the price that they were
otherwise going to be paying for nylon carpets to be installed.
Isn't that a glorious winds logging this? Nicolas point better
(09:16):
prodding this?
Speaker 1 (09:16):
Yeah, okay, thank you, I appreciate it. Nichola Willis, Finance Minister.
For more from Heather Duplessy Allen Drive, Listen live to
news Talks the'd be from four pm weekdays, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio
And with us right now is Nichola Willis the Finance minister.
(00:02):
Heinikeler Hi, Heather, what are we going to do about
all of the landlords who are not meeting the Healthy
Homes standards by tomorrow?
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Well, they're expected to be meeting the standards, and if
they're not, their tenants have the ability to make a
complaint about that and can expect them to meet those standards.
They've had years to get around to it. Heither, And
in fact, from twenty twenty two they've already been required
to comply with the standards whenever they have a new
(00:31):
or renewed tenancy. So the change now is simply that
all homes, even where tenancies haven't changed, are now required
to comply. And this has had, as I say, many
years of leading. So we've got complying got landloords already
so that there can be both investigations by the Tenancy
Tribunal and individual tenants can ask for inspections should they
(00:53):
wish to.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
Okay, and we do have people going around do we
just checking randomly?
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Look, I'm not sure that that is the I think
that this is more a case of tenants are informed
about their rights and if they think their landlord isn't
meeting the standards, they can take action.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
Okay, how many houses do you because what by my
calculations at a conservative levels, about one hundred and eighty
thousand houses that don't meet the standards? You reckon, that's
about right.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
Well, I don't know what the answer to that is,
because actually all landlords are expected that they should be
meeting the standards now, and tenants have a right to
expect that if they're renting rental property and New Zealand
those standards are being met.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Yeah, I just reckon that a lot of them are
going to try it on, don't you think.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Well, the attendants should feel empowered that those are the
rules and they have a right to have them enforced. Now.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
Aproposal letters that you sent to the supermarkets last week,
how many supermarkets do you, reckon don't have those electronic
price tags.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Well, that's why I've written the letters to find out
actually what is the state of the systems across the country.
Of course, part of what prompted me doing it was
that a couple of big packenslaves in Auckland pled guilty
to charges of misleading pricing in response to a Commerce
Commission prosecution. There are other persecutions progressing, There are investigations underway.
(02:09):
My concern is a simple one. It shouldn't be that
there has to be a complaint and a prosecution for
the stuff to be got right. And secondly, if one
mistake is made for one customer, I think that the
correction should then occur immediately for all customers, not just
the one who was smart enough to see the discrepancy
on the receipt and make the complaint. So that's what
(02:32):
that system.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
How would you possibly.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
Well, if you've got a modern electronic system, if I
come and say, hey, look the pizza was meant to
be seven dollars and actually you charge me nine, they
should instantly be able to use an electronic system to
correct that across all tills in the supermarket, so no
one else is impacted.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
You mean reasonable? If you and I both bought a
punnet of tomatoes, let's say, and you got overcharge pointed
it out, and I'd been over charged and not realized,
they need to track me down and and then refund me.
You're not meaning that, what.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
No, But what you could do is have a really
clear refund policy that says upfront everywhere, for every customer
to know if you are charged more than we said,
not only will we refund you the money, but you
can keep the product. That's the standard that we hold
ourselves to. I think that would be reasonable.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
Do they not all have a clear refund policy or
they don't have that refund policy?
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Well, this is why we bring sunlight to these things either.
Because with Sunlight, I'm advised that the major supermarkets are
now intending to bring out these refund policies and make
them clearer to their.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
Con They already doing that.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
In some cases, but in other cases, no, they were not.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
I'm waiting for your big I mean, like, I appreciate
that you're doing this stuff and you know whatever, but
this is not the big supermarket action. That's what I'm
waiting for. When's that coming?
Speaker 2 (03:55):
Ah, Well, I will have more to say about that
in the future. As you'reiate, it is not simple to
get someone to open up additional supermarkets in New Zealand.
From a computeritor, that's my ultimate destination, but I'm very
realistic that on the way through, while we are looking
at the various things we can do and make it
(04:16):
easier for people to expand in New Zealand on the
way through, people have to put up with the existing structure,
are you so I will deal with restoring attention to.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
Well doing structural stuff by the end of this year.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
Well. As I've said, the first thing is making sure
that if there are legal or regulatory barriers that are
making it difficult for a grocery sector that would challenge
the existing incumbents to expand or to set up, I'm
very willing to deal with those barriers and I have
had detailed feedback by the end of the number of submitters. Yes,
(04:48):
there will be.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
Changes, Okay by the end of this year, and by.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
The end of this year you will be hearing more
from me on what our next steps are to remove.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
The reason I'm asking you that is because we talk
about supermarkets a lot and I'm not getting anyatisfaction here right.
There's a lot of talk and there's not a lot
of actual action that's happening.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
You can appreciate that, well, I think that the supermarkets
themselves have obligations to change things in real time too.
And you know, Mike Costking has taken issue with me
pointing out that butter is half the price at Costco. Well,
my point there is this costco. Yes, they're making a
decision to do some lost leading potentially to get people
(05:26):
in the door, But actually any supermarket at any time
could make that choice to make some everyday staples a
bit cheaper for New Zealanders. And I think that they
have that choice this week.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
Yeah, but the way they probably do to be fair,
I mean, they just choose to lost lead on the
spaghetti when you want them to lost lead on the butter.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Well, no, it's not so much that I want them
to lost lead on a particular product. It's that the
evidence internationally is that we still have some of the
most expensive groceries in the world. And if you were
to ask most New Zealand shoppers, have you noticed a
big fallen prices any of the products that you regularly
need to go for? I don't think you find many
people who so they have. And so my point is
(06:06):
the supermarkets have a choice every day about the way
that they price and offer groceries to New Zealanders, and
I'm not going to be ashamed about continuing to ask
them to put their best foot forward.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
Okay, now, have you got any changes to announce on
the Family Boost?
Speaker 2 (06:21):
Yes? I do. Cabinet made decisions on that. Today we
will be making changes to the settings that will allow
people from one October when they make their claims to
claim a bit more, and that will apply for fees
incurred from one July tomorrow, and the changes are twofold.
(06:42):
The first is to increase the amount of rebate, which
will have the effect that people on lower middle incomes
with lower rates of fees will be able to get
a bigger rebate. And the second will be to reduce
what's known as the abatement rate. Essentially, at the moment,
families earning more than one hundred and fourty few thousand
have a dramatic drop off and how much they're able
(07:03):
to claim, and we're going to adjust that a bit
so they can claim a bit more. But I'll be
making a detailed announcement about it imminently. How eminently, oh well,
I'm not going to tell you precise timing. We will
have something to say in more detail. But I want
everyone listening to know that if you've got children in
early childhood education, chances are if you're already eligible for
(07:26):
family boosts, the amount of your rebate could be increasing.
And if you are just on the cusp of eligibility,
you may now be eligible. So from one July, keep
those receipts.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
How many people do you think will get the full amount?
Speaker 2 (07:40):
Well, I ida, now as you can imagine a lot
more cautious about those estimates. And they point out that
the best that they can do is really guess because
it depends on whose plans.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
At the moment, it's only two hundred and fifty people
are which is pitiful.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
Well, as I say, we're going to increase the amount
of rebate that people are eligible for, So that means
that the overall number of people who can get that
maximum seventy five dollars will increase.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
To two hundred and fifty one. Will it be?
Speaker 2 (08:10):
It will be, It will be more, it will be more. Heather.
The changes that we've made, we've been advised, will result
in thousands more people getting family boost payments and thousands
of people getting hundreds of dollars.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
Nikola, it's coming at yeast payments. What's the price per
square meter of the wall carpet?
Speaker 2 (08:29):
Oh my gosh, I knew you'd ask, And do you
know my team said, should we try and wheedle it
out of caying or so you can tell here that,
and I said, no, this is now a point of
principle when Crown entities sign commercial contracts and they do
not disclose those facts to ministers, Ministers don't then go
behind the bike. You can say, please, can you tell
me so I can tell here that.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
So old mate who was just saying we need all
the sunlight is now on a point of principle not
wanting any sunlight on this.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
Well, it's just that it's not appropriate for me to
be going into the ins and outs of commercially see
set of contracts. But you are right to put sunlight
on this, which is they have confirmed for me that
it is no more than the price that they were
otherwise going to be paying for nylon carpets to be installed.
Isn't that a glorious winds logging this? Nicolas point better
(09:16):
prodding this?
Speaker 1 (09:16):
Yeah, okay, thank you, I appreciate it. Nichola Willis, Finance Minister.
For more from Heather Duplessy Allen Drive, Listen live to
news Talks the'd be from four pm weekdays, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio
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