Wellington, August 2, 2020
Investing in our people, backing businesses, and upgrading infrastructure and housing throughout the country are among Labour’s plan to recover and rebuild.
Kiwis deserve high-quality care they can rely on; so, we are making sure that DHBs have the infrastructure that they need to deliver vital services for New Zealanders.
That is why we are replacing Auckland Hospital’s 50-year-old infrastructure, future-proofing the facilities for generations to come.
While often behind the scenes, away from patients and whānau, it is the critical infrastructure that keeps hospitals running. This work will get underway while the DHB’s existing infrastructure projects are progressing. Construction on the hospital will also create jobs, employing as many as 350 workers on-site.
Upgrading hospitals
After a long period of under-funding, we are tackling the long-term challenge of bringing our hospitals back up to the standard New Zealanders expect.
Auckland Hospital is just one of the health infrastructure upgrades being funded by our record $3.5 billion investment to improve our hospitals.
We also announced more than $30 million in funding to support strategic tourism businesses.
This investment will help drive domestic tourism through developing regional events and increasing businesses’ digital capabilities.
Boosting tourism
The funding will go to 126 tourism businesses in total, and could help protect the jobs of around 3000 people directly employed in the industry. This announcement means that the $400 million Tourism Recovery Package we announced at Budget 2020, is now fully allocated.
We are expanding the Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities Retrofit Programme, making around 1500 older state homes warmer, drier, and healthier. The upgrades will take place in 30 towns and cities across New Zealand over the next two and a half years.
Source: Labour Voices August 1, 2020