To Do List
( First one hundred days)
1. A year’s free tertiary education for 2018.
2. KiwiBuild: Build 100,000 high quality, affordable homes over 10 years, with 50% of them in Auckland.
3. The ‘families package’ – a $60 weekly payment for parents of newborn babies plus increases to paid parental leave.
In July next year the number of paid weeks a parent can spend with their baby will rise from 18 weeks to 22.
In 2020 it will rise again to 26 weeks.
4. Cut Immigration -specifically students and low skilled workers
Jacinda Ardern said her government will not immediately slash migrant numbers. During the election campaign, Labour said it would cut immigration by up to 30,000 people.But in an interview today with Reuters she says this was always an estimate not a target.Ardern said the minister for immigration is working through various proposals but she does not expect any announcement soon.
“That was never within our 100 day plan, there were other priorities around housing, around health, around incomes that we were much more focused on,” she said.
5. Assign a Pike River Minister to look at re-entry into the mine
6. Increase minimum wage from $15.75 to $16.50 from the start of 2018. (the Greens want $18 an hour and NZ First $20 an hour.)
Last year, MBIE estimated an increase from $15.25 to $16.50 would restrict job growth by about 7000 jobs and cost the wider economy $257 million but would give a pay rise to more than 200,000 workers.
7. Split up the Ministry of Primary Industries to re-create a Ministry of Forestry.
8. Reform the welfare system
9. Implement environmental measures
10. Hold a referendum on legalising cannabis for recreational use. (Green Party policy)
11. Reform the Reserve Bank Act (NZ First policy)
12. Implement a ban on Foreigners buying houses
13. Come up with an alternative model to the original Water tax on farmers.
14. Draw up terms of reference for Labour’s tax working group.
15. Monitor progress toward carbon neutrality by 2050
16. Keep the Trade Unions happy.
17. Discuss targets for workers such as Industry Standard Agreements, or Pay Equity Agreements, which would provide minimum conditions across certain industries.
18. Discuss changes that the CTU want made to improve collective bargaining.
19. Discuss with the New Zealand Nurses Organisation their expectation that the 2017 health budget be reversed and an extra $2billion be put into the health sector.
20. Provide clarity on the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
21. Last but by no means least: Eliminate Child Poverty!