Recently Youth Parliament was held in Parliament in Wellington and my Wellington office team, and I had the pleasure of hosting Papakura’s Youth MP Ryan Higgins and his family during the event.
Ryan gave an excellent speech from my seat in the House which is a major feature of the Youth Parliament activities. His topic was the need to have respect for the working of Parliament and for your parliamentary colleagues. Demonstrating courtesy to others, even those you don’t agree with, sets a very positive example for the youth of today who might be considering a role in Parliament in the future. It also establishes a model for respectful behaviour in any workplace or school or tertiary education setting for that matter. Good manners matter. I am sure most of us agree wholeheartedly with Ryan and celebrate that he has brought this matter of participating positively with colleagues in the workplace to the attention of his fellow Youth MP’s and many of us who listened in Parliament’s Gallery.
Family Boost Tax Credit – from 1 July 2025
This Coalition Government and our Minister of Finance Nicola Willis, understand how hard it is for many families who currently are juggling their budgets and everyday costs.
With that in mind, Hon Nicola Willis has asked me and all other Members of Parliament to update you on the changes to the Government’s FamilyBoost tax credit that could help with early childhood education costs. From 1 July 2025, the Government has expanded the FamilyBoost tax credit to provide more help with the cost of early childhood education (ECE).
If your household or someone in your family or friend-circle uses paid ECE services, you and they, may now be eligible for a larger quarterly payment, or eligible for Family Boost for the first time through this enhanced support.
It means that up to 40 per cent of fees can be claimed back, up from 25 per cent.
This means, for example, that a family with early childhood fees of $100 a week could have their weekly FamilyBoost payment increased from $25 a week to $40 a week, meaning their annual repayments would increase from $1,300 to $2,080 over the course of a year.
Some families will receive up to $1560 of fees back per quarter and more families will be able to claim family boost as the income cap has risen to almost $230,000 per year.
Enrol to Vote in your Local Body Elections
Just another reminder that Local Body Elections are coming up and to ‘have your say’ you need to be enrolled and you need to check your address is current, as voting papers are posted to your postal address.
The people elected to Councils and local boards make the decisions about how cities and towns and local communities are run and what services are prioritised and most importantly, they decide how the money you pay in rates, is spent.
More classrooms for Papakura Schools
Last week it was announced by Hon Erica Stanford that $120million is to be invested in new classrooms for the growing population in Auckland.
It was great to share the news with the local principals at Kauri Flats School and Papakura Normal School. In particular, their primary schools will be receiving 14 of those classrooms plus two more for learning support, as quickly as they can be built.
The Ministry of Education has a standard classroom design and a programme for efficient delivery, so these classrooms can be up and running next year.
All the best to you and your families,
