Minister Carmel Sepuloni said that having a licence was a key requirement for up to 70 per cent of jobs, but a big portion of the community could not access tests or training due to costs and other barriers.
She went on to say, "This disproportionately disadvantages Māori, Pacific peoples, sole parents and rural communities."
This pretty well exactly describes the people referred to the Howard League for its driver's licence programme - from Probation Officers, Police, and the Courts.
There is also an indication that the problems around testing will soon be addressed.
One of the biggest frustrations our driving instructors encounter is having a client ready to take their test, but no testing slots available.
Part of this problem is undoubtedly due to the backlog caused by the various Covid lockdowns, but not all of it, by any means.
One testing station in the circulation area of Hawke's Bay Today operates only two or three days in any week, and appointments made next week for that site (the only choice in the area) will be for times in August.
The package announced on Wednesday is a huge leap in the right direction and the target of 64,000 newly licensed drivers in four years is an achievable goal.
In the last four years the Howard League driver's licence programme has been responsible for more than 12,500 licences, with an average deployment over that period of fifteen instructors.
On these averages and adopting the Howard League delivery model, eighty instructors would achieve the target in the planned timeframe.
The bad news is that I've spent a week isolating, having tested positive for Covid-19 the Friday before last.
On that day, I felt weak and chesty, and a rapid antigen test quickly told me I had the virus.
As a resolute mask-wearer and hand-sanitiser, I have no exact idea how I contracted the virus, though I did take my first flights in a while and participated in group meetings in Wellington.
I reported my condition to the Health Department website, and I downloaded the guidelines on handling the disease.
I had only one severe symptom – a very runny nose – and that was only severe for a couple of days, though I lost all energy for longer than that.
The Government has faced repeated attacks from the National and ACT Parties over its handling of the pandemic. We should reject this criticism as political posturing.
We have what is likely to be the lowest pandemic death rate in the world, and have achieved among the very highest levels of vaccination.
The latest international reports show that, almost alone amongst the nations of the world, the life-expectancy of Kiwis actually increased during the two years (so far!) of the pandemic.
The systems put in place by our government served me very well.
The day after I'd reported the positive test, I got my first call from a health professional to pass on important information – stay hydrated, take plenty of rest, etc.
The official who contacted me was looking at my health records as we spoke, and because of my age and heart problems some years ago, he prescribed the antiviral drugs known collectively as Paxlovid.
This treatment heavily reduces the chances of ending up in a hospital or a coffin and was delivered to my letter box within 24 hours.
In the following days, I was called another three times to check on my well-being and offered support.
What I experienced is a slick and well organised system which aims to reduce deaths and combat the most serious effects of the virus.
My week of enforced isolation also saw polls showing two sides of politics running neck-and-neck, which didn't surprise me given that every new leader is granted a honeymoon period by voters, even those who turn out to be utterly unsuited to the job of Prime Minister.
As the more astute commentators observed, there is much water and two budgets to go under the bridge before the next general election, as many as 18 months away.
Still, life for people like me just got a lot more interesting.
Mike Williams grew up in Hawke's Bay. He is chief executive of the NZ Howard League and a former Labour Party president. All opinions are his and not those of Hawke's Bay Today.
