Prime Minister announces minimum wage increase as part of raft of changes to Government policies and plans.

• What you need to know:
  • Prime Minister Chris Hipkins made a number of announcements following a busy Cabinet meeting.
  • This is the first set of reprioritisation policies, with the cost of living crisis currently at front of mind.
  • An extra $5m has been announced for Auckland businesses impacted by the recent floods.
  • The RNZ-TVNZ merger is set to be axed.
  • The hate speech legislation will be withdrawn from Parliament, and the Law Commission will be asked to consider this issue in totality.
  • A biofuels mandate will be discontinued.
  • Further work is expected to be done on the Three Waters reforms.
  • The minimum wage will go up on April 1. The wage will be raised by $1.50 an hour, to $22.70 an hour.

• Government’s biofuels decision a good first start - Energy Resources AotearoaEnergy Resources Aotearoa say news that the Government will no longer impose a biofuels mandate is a good start to changing energy policy and gives firms and consumers much-needed certainty.
  Energy Resources Aotearoa chief executive John Carnegie says:
  "After several years of speculation and uncertainty, today Prime Minister Hipkins has provided firms and consumers with clarity by cancelling the biofuels mandate in response to the current cost of living crisis."
  The introduction of the obligation would have required firms to invest in processes to ensure a growing percentage of liquid fuels per litre...

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