Todd McClay: Plenty to shout about for Rotorua families

Reported crime in Rotorua has fallen by 26.1 per cent.

There have been many things happening recently that are good news for people in Rotorua.

Over the past few weeks family friendly policies have come into effect, helping people into their first homes, increasing time mothers can spend with their newborns and helping with the cost of doctors visits for children.

Home ownership is important, it leads to better outcomes for families and communities. That's why we've increased support to help get people on the property ladder.

A young couple buying their first home and who have contributed to KiwiSaver for five or more years could receive between $35,000 and $45,000 of savings and grants towards a deposit. We are doubling the HomeStart grant to $20,000 for a couple buying a newly built home, and up to $10,000 on an existing home. This will help 90,000 young New Zealanders over the next five years to buy their own home.

We are also doubling the number of people receiving the grant to 20,000 per year. - more hard working, young people in Rotorua will be able to access their KiwiSaver funds saved to buy their first home.

Paid parental leave also increases by two weeks on April 1, and by another two weeks in April next year. This will help new parents spend more time with their babies before having to go back to work. Parental tax credits increase to $220 a week and will be extending to 10 weeks.

Free doctors visits and prescriptions are being extended to children under 13 from July 1. This ensures cost is not a factor when parents consider taking their child to the doctor. This will benefit around 17,000 children and young people in the Rotorua district and will drive better health outcomes for our youngest residents.

The minimum wage increased on April 1 to $14.75 an hour. This is a boost for our lowest-paid workers, and will help ease the financial pressure in their households. At the same time we've provided more places for trades training and apprenticeships with Waiariki receiving funding for an increase in Maori Trades Training, all aimed at helping people gain skills and experience to earn more.

More positive news this week saw the crime rates fall in Rotorua for the fifth consecutive year. Statistics showed that the total rate of reported crime in Rotorua fell by 4.7 per cent last year. In total, this drop in crime equates to 414 fewer offences than in 2013. This is great news as we continue to be safer in our homes and communities.

The overall reduction in offending was led by drops in crime across many categories. Public order offences fell by 23.3 per cent, acts intended to cause injury reduced by 5.8 per cent, property damage by 9.7 per cent, fraud by 5 per cent. Incidents of theft dropped in Rotorua by 2.9 per cent, and illicit drug offences also reduced, by 1.4 per cent.

Reported crime has fallen by a staggering 26.1 per cent in Rotorua over the past five years. It is a reflection on the hard work of Rotorua Police and the Government's policy of free up police time to spent on the front line. Crime is down and support for families is up. That's as it should be.

- Todd McClay is MP for Rotorua.