Prime Minister Mark Brown tabled the 2025/2026 National Budget in Parliament yesterday.

Apart from the social welfare benefits, he also highlighted other key initiatives:

Government wide pay adjustments: Starting from July 1, additional $5.9 million is going into a government wide pay adjustments reaching $16.5m by July 1, 2027.

According to Brown, this is to help bring everybody’s pay level in the public service up to meeting the cost of living increases.

“Currently, some government agencies are still on the 2017 pay structure, while others are on the 2019 structure. This needs to be addressed so there is consistency across our agencies. In support of this, we are committing $5.9 million to support a whole-of-government pay scale adjustment. This will be done in a phased approach and is expected to reach full implementation by 2027/28.”

Of the adjustments provided, $492,000 is allocated for 2025/26 and $4.7 million over four years towards addressing salary adjustments of Island Governments.

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Teachers Training Programme: Government has committed to an increase of $310,000 this financial year (2025/26) and a total of $1.2 million over four years to continue support for the ‘Teachers Training Programme’.

“We understand the important role that our teachers have in guiding the next generation and giving them the skills to succeed in life – for all of us. But in order for teachers to truly fulfil this role and provide the highest quality of education to our children, we must first invest in them,” Brown said.

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Police funding $7.58 million: PM Brown said the Cook Islands Police Service funding is increased to address long-standing staffing challenges.

“Over the past few years, our Police force have faced persistent shortages that have stretched their capacity and impacted their ability to serve our communities at full strength,” he said.

“We recognise that policing is no easy task – it demands dedication, resilience, and a deep sense of public duty. I want to take this moment to welcome the new Police Leadership and commend every individual who chooses to wear the uniform and uphold the safety and wellbeing of our people.”

Brown said to support recruitment and retention efforts, and to strengthen the overall capacity of the Police services, Government has increased funding by $1.1 million per year over four years.

“This is on top of the government-wide phased pay scale adjustments. These funds will be directed toward addressing critical needs to ensure our police is well-equipped to meet the growing demands of public safety.”

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Health investment:  PM Brown said that as part of ongoing efforts to improve healthcare, plans are underway to establish a much-needed dialysis unit at the Rarotonga hospital.

This project is set to commence in 2026/27 for two fiscal years, and it will be in collaboration with Te Marae Ora, the Cook Islands Investment Corporation, and the New Zealand Ministry of Health.

“The new unit will allow patients with kidney disease to receive high- quality, life-saving treatment right here in the Cook Islands, reducing the need to travel overseas for essential care.”

Key initiatives

• Minimum Wage: increase to $10 p/hour
• Destitute Payments: increase from $400 p/month to $500 p/month
• Newborn Allowances: increase from $1000 to $1500 per newborn
• Child Benefit: Annual $25 per month increments from 1 July 2026 until it reaches $200 per month from 1 July 2029
• Eligibility extends to children in school up to age 16 from 1 July 2026, and age 17 from 1 July 2027
• Maternity Leave: Increases from 6 to 8 weeks of paid leave from 1 July 2026, 10 weeks by 1 July 2027, 12 weeks by 1 July 2028, and 14 weeks from 1 July 2029
• Paternity Leave (NEW): Eligible for 2-weeks of paid leave, at minimum wage
• Government-wide pay adjustments: $5.9 million from 1 July 2025, reaching $16.5 million by 1 July 2027
• First-Home Build initiative: Offers support to eligible first-time homeowners who need help building their first home, $2760 a year for five years
• Domestic Shipping: $2 million investment to set up shipping services, covering administration, crew, warehousing, operations, and maintenance
• Increased allocation to address critical funding needs across the Police service.
• Increased funding to support the continuation of the Teacher’s Training Programme initiative.
• Ongoing fund to cover the water allowance for domestic households.
• Additional funds to support waste management activities.

Key projects funded over 4 years from 2025/26:

Government-funded:

o Roads programme - $38.2 million

o Bridges and Drainage programmes - $15.9 million

o Government Building projects – Rarotonga & Pa Enua - $7.7 million

o Health and Education capital items - $2.5 million

o Pa Enua Marine Infrastructure Programmes (Atiu & Nassau Harbour) - $5.9 million

Infrastructure investment

Funded through the Infrastructure Trust Fund and NZ’s Kerekere Moana financing:

o Aitutaki water supply project – Climate Resilience - $1.25 million

o Te Tau Papa o Avarua - $3.4 million

o Manihiki Airport upgrades - $14.8 million

o Northern Group battery replacement - $12.6 million

o Rarotonga Runway Slab replacement - $4.5 million

o Rarotonga Runway End Safety Area Extension project - $9.2 million

o Aitutaki Airport Runway Strip Land Reclamation project - $1.4 million