If you want to develop your listening skills, try these tasks as you listen to the text. The answers are at the bottom of this page, after the Vocabulary. Thanks to Natasha Groves for preparing the tasks.
If you want to listen and read, just scroll down to the text.
1. Listening for main ideas
First, just listen to the text, taking notes if you wish. What information can you catch during this first listening?
2. Now listen again and answer the following questions:
- What happened last Thursday?
- What is a government Budget?
- What changes will be made to the KiwiSaver retirement savings scheme?
- What change will affect unemployed 18- and 19-year-olds?
- Which three areas will receive more funding? What details are given about these?
- Who will benefit from the “Investment Boost”?
- What changes are planned for energy savings and climate change?
- When does the government plan to return to surplus?
- How have some medical staff responded to the Budget?
Text
Last Thursday the Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, presented the government’s Budget to Parliament. The Budget states how much income the government has, which comes mainly from taxes, and how much it plans to spend in the coming financial year.
One significant change that will affect many people is a reduction in the government contribution to KiwiSaver, the voluntary retirement savings scheme. Currently the government gives 50 cents for every dollar that an employee contributes to their KiwiSaver, up to a maximum of $521.43 each year. However, from 1 July 2025 this will be halved to 25 cents per dollar, up to a maximum of $260.72. To balance this reduction, the minimum percentage that an employee and employer must contribute will increase from 3% to 3.5% of their before-tax pay from 1 April 2026, and then to 4% from 1 April 2028. The government says this will make KiwiSaver more sustainable as the number of older people in New Zealand increases. In addition, people who earn over $180,000 will no longer receive the government contribution, but 16- and 17-year-olds will now receive it.
The government has cut $5.3 billion dollars from its spending for the year. Of that, $2.7 billion dollars is from the changes to the pay equity law, and other savings are from social welfare. For example, there will now be means testing for 18- and 19-year-olds who are unemployed. That means that the amount of their Jobseeker benefit will depend on how much their parents earn. It is estimated that this policy will save the government about $163 million over four years.
On the other hand, there is new spending of $6.7 billion a year, in areas such as health, education, and law and order. There will be $164 million over four years for urgent and after-hours medical care, so that more people can see a doctor when they need to. For schools, there will be an increase of $720 million for learning support for children with disabilities. There will be almost $500 million over four years to support the police in their work.
A new policy, called the “Investment Boost”, allows businesses to deduct 20 percent of the cost of new machinery or tools from their taxable income. The government hopes that this will support businesses and therefore boost GDP by 1 percent and wages by 1.5 percent over two decades.
Another significant change is the plan to fund gas exploration in New Zealand, with $220 million in the Budget for new gasfields. At the same time, the government is reducing funds for its agencies working on energy savings and climate change. It is also reducing climate finance – that is, money to support other countries to move away from fossil fuels. This will mainly affect countries in the Pacific.
The Budget shows that the government is operating with a deficit. That means that it is spending more than it is earning, so it is borrowing money. When it was elected, the government planned to get back into surplus by the middle of 2027, but now the plan is to return to surplus in 2029.
There is always a mixed reaction to the government’s Budget. The Opposition parties in Parliament criticise it, and economists and other commentators and groups are often unhappy about some aspects of it, while happy about others. For example, some medical staff are happy about the extra money for urgent after-hours care, but they say that it may not be enough money and there may not be enough staff to work in the medical centres.
Vocabulary
Note that Budget, means testing, climate finance, and deficit are explained in the text
halve – to reduce something by a half
pay equity – when women and men are paid the same for work that is different but that has the same or a similar level of skill, responsibility, and effort (listen to the story about this topic from two weeks ago)
urgent – very important and needing to be dealt with immediately
deduct – to take away money or points from a total amount
taxable income – income which can be taxed
GDP – Gross Domestic Product, the total value of all the good and services produced by a country in one year
fossil fuels – fuels such as coal or oil
surplus – when a country or company earns more money than it spends
criticise – to say that you think something is bad, or to say what you think is wrong about something
Answers
a. What happened last Thursday?
The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, presented the government’s Budget to Parliament.
b. What is a government Budget?
The Budget states how much income the government has, and how much it plans to spend in the coming financial year.
c. What changes will be made to the KiwiSaver retirement savings scheme?
The maximum government contribution will drop from $521.43 to $260.72 each year.
Minimum contributions by employees and employers will increase from 3% to 3.5% (from 1 April 2026) then to 4% (from 1 April 2028).
People who earn over $180,000 will no longer receive the government contribution, but 16- and 17-year-olds will now receive it.
d. What change will affect unemployed 18- and 19-year-olds?
Their Jobseeker benefit will be means tested, meaning that the amount they receive will depend on how much their parents earn.
e. Which three areas will receive more funding? What details are given about these?
Health: There will be $164 million over four years for urgent and after-hours medical care, so that more people can see a doctor when they need to.
Education: For schools, there will be an increase of $720 million for learning support for children with disabilities.
Law and Order: There will be almost $500 million over four years to support the police in their work.
f. Who will benefit from the “Investment Boost”?
Business
g. What changes are planned for energy savings and climate change?
The government is reducing funds for its agencies working on energy savings and climate change; It is reducing climate finance (=money to support other countries to move away from fossil fuels).
h. When does the government plan to return to surplus?
In 2029
i. How have some medical staff responded to the Budget?
Some medical staff are happy about the extra money for urgent after-hours care, but they say that it may not be enough money and there may not be enough staff to work in the medical centres.