Politics Blog - May 13-19

Many schools will only get a "snack" under the Government's changes to the school lunch programme, Labour leader Chris Hipkins says.

Speaking to reporters at the Year 0-6 Te Kura O Matarangi, Northcote school in Christchurch on Thursday, Hipkins said primary schools received on average about $6.50 per meal per day under the current scheme.

Under the Government's proposed "cut-price model" that would drop to about $3, he said.

"In reality that's not going to give the kids the free, healthy, nutritious meals that they have been used to," Hipkins said.

"For many schools, it will be a snack that they get."

There is however no planned change for an interim period through to 2026 for Years 0-6, while the Government works on a full re-design, according to the policy announcement earlier this month.

For secondary schools the budget now was around $8 to $8.50, and that would also drop to about $3, Hipkins said.

"I don't think that schools are going to be able to meet the needs of their student communities on that kind of a budget," Hiipkins said.

He criticised the Government's intended tax cuts, saying it was not the right time. Instead it was a time to ensure public services were funded appropriately, that programmes like the school lunches programme as it was now were continued, and for driving inflation down and getting the economy back into balance.