Simon Bridges National MP simonbridges.co.nz

Last week's Budget announcement included almost $500 million more for the wellbeing of Kiwi children and families.

Budget 2014 is a continuation of the work we've been doing since taking office to provide practical measures for young families and vulnerable children.

As Minister of Labour, I was involved in the extension of paid parental leave by four weeks, which includes caregivers other than parents.

We are also increasing the parental tax credit for the first time since 1999.

Free doctors' visits and prescriptions for children aged under six will be extended to all children under 13 from July next year.

We are rolling out eight more children's teams to help protect our most vulnerable children from abuse and to ensure they are getting the social services they need.

Our investment in the wellbeing of children and families reflects our priority of delivering better public services for all Kiwi families.

Investing in our children's futures

We are also investing more in early childhood education, to help give more children a great start in life, and boosting the subsidy rates to help keep fees affordable for parents.

Despite tight financial times, National's spend on early childhood, primary, and secondary education will be $10.1 billion in 2014/2015.

Budget 2014 provides $198.6m for new investment in tertiary education, to strengthen the quality of our higher education system, further improve the quality of our universities and help maintain their international competitiveness.

These investments in our children and young people are part of a comprehensive range of practical measures in Budget 2014 to help families and children, and invest in New Zealand's future.

The extra $155.7m for early childhood education will support an estimated 5800 more children to access ECE by June 2018, and a boost to the subsidy rates will help keep fees affordable for parents.

Ensuring every child gets a good education is one of the most important things National can do to raise living standards and build a more competitive and productive economy.