Parker DavidTAXATION (COVID-19 SUPPORT PAYMENTS AND WORKING FOR FAMILIES TAX CREDITS) BILLFirst ReadingDebate resumed.Hon DAVID PARKER (Minister of Revenue): Thank you Madam Speaker. I present a legislative statement on the Taxation (COVID-19 Support Payments and Working for Families Tax Credits) Bill.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): That legislative statement is published under the authority of the House and can be found on the Parliament website.Hon DAVID PARKER: I move That the Taxation (COVID-19 Support Payments and Working for Families Tax Credits) Bill be now read a first time.This bill will support New Zealanders through difficult times. COVID-19 has been tough for many people some more than others and if you put yourself in the shoes of low to middle income families who have to provide for children many sole parent families you can imagine how tight budgets are and the pressures that brings. Reducing child poverty is critical to the Government's priority of improving child wellbeing and laying the foundations for the future. Child poverty is a long-term issue affecting New Zealand children and increasing support for low and middle income families is necessary. It's a fair thing to do it helps those families to live better lives and it creates opportunities for them and for the betterment of society more broadly.The changes we are proposing through this bill contribute to the welfare overhaul work programme which itself lays foundations for the Government's vision of a welfare system which ensures that people are treated with dignity and can live in dignity with an adequate income and standard of living so that they are able to participate meaningfully in their and our communities. The bill therefore proposes to increase the family tax credit rate by almost $15 per week for the eldest child in the family and $13 per week for subsequent children from 1 April 2022. This family tax credit increase combines a $5 per week per child increase on top of the Consumers Price Index (CPI) increase for the family tax credit which was scheduled for 1 April 2022. The bill also makes two additional Working for Families increases for 1 April 2022 providing for a scheduled CPI-indexed increase for Best Start from $60 to $65 a week from $3210 to $3388 per annum and an increase to the minimum family tax credit threshold from $31096 to $32864.64. People currently receiving a family tax credit or Best Start payment will be better off from this change. The changes are targeted towards the lowest-income families—[Receives glass of water] Thanks very much. Excuse me Madam Speaker. Sorry I had a tickle in my tonsils there. The changes are targeted towards the lowest-income families so that those with a family income of less than $40000 benefit the most with an average increase of $26 per week.This package is estimated to lift another 6000 children out of poverty. As we do that through supporting those most in need we're also increasing the abatement rate for the family tax credit and the in-work tax credit from 25 percent to 27 percent and this kicks in for a family whose income is over $42700. In addition to the Working for Families tax credit increases the bill also makes a minor remedial amendment updating the CPI measure used for the indexation of the family tax credit and the Best Start tax credit. As a result of the Working for Families changes in the bill it's estimated that a further 6000 children will be lifted out of poverty and that's in addition to the up to 33000 children who will be lifted out of poverty by the increase in benefit levels earlier this year. Under this Labour Government these are solid gains for people in lower-income brackets and we placed a real Budget emphasis on this because we really do believe on this side of the House that ending child poverty is justifiably one of the highest if not the highest priorities for Government.If I could turn to COVID-19 support payments and the framework for them this bill also makes some changes to the resurgence support scheme which continues to provide financial support to businesses struck by the effects of COVID-19 and through that helps to save jobs. It's a good scheme it's worked well and it has been a valuable aid not just to the businesses in receipt of it but to the confidence in the wider economy. We want to ensure that we can continue to provide this support and to enable us to do that we need to adjust how the resurgence support scheme or the resurgence support payment—or the RSP—is activated. Legislation relating to the RSP contains specific references to support eligible businesses if there is a resurgence in New Zealand of COVID-19 or an escalation in COVID-19 alert levels". Because we've now got a shift from the alert level framework to the COVID-19 Protection Framework as well as a shift of focus from elimination to an approach based on minimisation and protection this means that the current legislative framework requires amendment.The proposals in this bill are aimed at adapting the resurgence support payment legislation into a more flexible COVID-19 support payments framework. The new framework will retain the overall objective of supporting eligible businesses affected by COVID-19 restrictions but it will no longer be specifically linked to the alert level framework nor be limited to an escalation in COVID-19 alert levels. Instead the amendments will allow the Government to be responsive and provide support to businesses in a variety of scenarios. The amendments will allow Inland Revenue to make payments to eligible persons financially affected by a public health measure business circumstance or other matter related to COVID-19.Hon Member: How many? How much? To whom? How will we know?Hon DAVID PARKER: Well the detail of that in response to the member's interjection will be set out in Orders in Council that the Governor-General will be able to authorise by payments—Hon Member: That's not good enough. Last time we did this we knew what we were doing.Hon DAVID PARKER: Well this time you do too. This Government stands on its record of properly supporting businesses and it's evidenced in the fact that we've got amongst the lowest unemployment rate in the world we've had very high growth rates notwithstanding COVID and we think we've got the balance about right. But as with the existing RSP provisions the new COVID-19 support framework will provide the activation criteria. Eligible persons circumstances of payment and calculation of payments may be set by Order in Council as they currently are for the current scheme.The bill is about alleviating financial stress. It helps keep business afloat. It does this by ensuring that vital COVID support payments can continue to be made and it ensures also that families are better off. It's a bill that recognises the reality of economic conditions today and the role of the Government in helping to relieve some of the financial stress. I thank the House for giving this bill its urgent consideration and commend it to the House.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): The question is that the motion be agreed to."