More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs.

“This is a real concern. You can't provide a vital frontline service without having the good support that sits on alongside you and behind you,” Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said.

“We’ve already heard how David Seymour wants to half the cost of the programme. Not only will that result in fewer children getting free and healthy lunches, but now he’s coming after the hard-working people who run the programme and taking food off their tables too.

"In this particular case, the fact that we have a strong team in the Ministry of Education means our teachers aren't burdened down with providing this programme in schools.

“The Government needs to be honest with Kiwis and give some certainty about the future of the school lunch programme.

“This is about choices. David Seymour, Nicola Willis and Christopher Luxon have chosen to give a $2.9 billion tax break to landlords rather than feeding more than 200,000 kids every day. That sum is the equivalent of around 439 million school lunches and would continue the programme for years to come.

“Every day the human cost of the Government’s tax cuts is becoming clearer, and its impact on the services New Zealanders rely on. It is really painting the picture of how unaffordable Nicola Willis’ budget is and the lengths she will go to fund her irresponsible political promise,” Jan Tinetti said.

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