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SIX out of 10 families will be substantially better off through boosted Government handouts that begin in October and get bigger over the next four years.
The Government says its Working for Families package announced in last month's Budget, will slash the number of children in poverty by 30 per cent and will ensure families are always better off working than on welfare.
Nearly two-thirds of all 480,000 New Zealand families with dependent children will get an average $66 a week more, and those earning between $25,000 and $45,000 will average another $100 by April 2007.
Beneficiary families will also gain from the package, but not as much as those working, who get two-thirds of the $1 billion a year package from boosts to childcare assistance and a grant only for those with jobs.
The message according to Prime Minister Helen Clark is: "You will be better off when you go to work."
For a family of six on $55,000 a year, it means a weekly increase of $100 by 2006 and $150 if it is on the same income in four years time.
Working for Families had three aims, said Finance Minister Michael Cullen: "To reduce barriers to work, ensure people are better off working and ensure families are able to give their children the best start in life."
It does that in four stages beginning in October, and rolling out each April until 2007.
Changes include:
l Family support - from April next year more families will be eligible and the rates increased by $25 a week for the first child and $15 a week for others. In April 2007, rates to increase by a further $10 a child.
l Childcare assistance - from October this year maximum income thresholds ;to qualify are lifted, and rates raised by 10 per cent, then another 10 per cent in October 2005.
l The accommodation supplement - from October this year families can earn more before their supplement is reduced, and from April 2005, overall rates are to be increased and a new higher rate introduced in Auckland.
l A new In Work weekly payment exclusively for working families replaces the Child Tax Credit from April 2006, paying families up to $60 a week for their first three children and $15 each for any more. The payment is abated until a family with four children earns $80,000.
l Beneficiary families get more Family Income Assistance. A family with three children, for example, gets an additional $37 a week next April increasing to $67.86 in 2007.