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1News
25-05-2025
- Business
- 1News
Māori leaders give disappointed reaction to 'yeah-nah' Budget
Dubbed the 'yeah-nah Budget' for Māori by members of the Opposition, the Government's announcement yesterday has attracted strong criticism over the cuts made to Māori-focused initiatives and pay equity claims. While Māori education received a boost of $54 million in operational funding and an additional $50 million in capital funding to support Māori learner success, and $14 million has been allocated to Māori Wardens, Pasifika Wardens, and the Māori Women's Welfare League, there was little else to show. But Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka told TVNZ's Te Karere that the Budget reflects the Government's focus on growing the economy, and investing in health, education and law and order. When asked what targeted Māori spending existed in the Budget, he pointed to the Māori Wardens and Māori Women's Welfare League. 'Heoi anō ko te nuinga o ngā putea me te mātotorutanga o ngā putea ka whakapaua ki ngā mahi hauora, ki ngā mahi mātauranga, ērā momo āhuatanga. Mā tēnā hoki e taea ai te kī kua ora tātou ngā iwi Māori me ngā iwi katoa.' ("However, most of the money has gone to health and education, those kinds of things. In that way you can say Māori and non-Māori benefit.") Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday fielded a question on funding for Māori initiatives and rejected the characterisation by a reporter that $750 million was stripped from Māori initiatives to put into the general pool of funds. "This is a Budget that is good for Māori because this is a Gudget that has seen job creation, income growth, more opportunities for Māori," Willis said. "What you see in this budget are specific initiatives that will specifically benefit Māori including more than $700 million for Māori health services; including a major education package targeted at Māori learners; including funding for the Māori Women's Welfare League, for Māori Wardens; and including funding for the Te Kōhanga Reo National Trust." Te Kōhanga Reo National Trust will receive $4.1 million over four years to help with ICT costs, administration and develop data capability. Willis said funding that was previously ring-fenced for Māori housing will now go into a "flexible housing fund" which she expects will lead to Māori-led housing development to deliver for whānau Māori. Labour Party's Māori development spokesperson Willie Jackson said the Government has slashed funding to more Māori programmes in this year's Budget. 'In Budget 2024 more than $300 million was cut from Māori-specific initiatives – Te Arawhiti, The Māori Health Authority, and Māori TV. Budget 2025 cuts even deeper with around $750 million cut from Māori housing, Māori economic funds, Māori education and programmes like Māori trades training.' He said the Government has turned its back on the Māori-Crown relationship. Speaking ahead of the Budget announcement, Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer said Māori should not be surprised to see the Budget match what "we've already seen" from the Government. 'There's going to be nothing that is going to recognise Te Tiriti, that is going to uphold the rights and interests of us as tangata whenua, that is going to address the inequities that are created because of the breaches of Te Tiriti.' Green MP Teanau Tuiono slammed the Government for taking money from pay equity claims to fund tax cuts. 'Me kaha ki te tiro ki te katoa o te horopaki o tēnei kāwanatanga, rātou e kaha te hoatu ngā pūtea ki wiwi ki wawa engari wareware katoa rātou ki ngā ringa raupā, ngā ringawera, ngā kaimahi.' ("You need to take everything into account when it comes to this Government, they are quick to divvy out funds all over the place but completely forget about the hardworking frontline workers.") Tāmaki Makaurau MP Takutai Tarsh Kemp questioned why more money was going into Defence when there was a cost-of-living crisis where whānau can't afford basic necessities. "This to us is a 'budget Budget', a 'yeah-nah Budget', there's nothing in it for us as Māori," she said. The Māori Development Minister defended the Budget against critics, saying they were delivering on their election promises. The national body for kura kaupapa Māori, Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori o Aotearoa, said it was concerned and disappointed with the Government's Budget announcement saying it ignores the longstanding and well-documented underfunding of kura kaupapa Māori. Rāwiri Wright, co-chair of Te Rūnanga Nui, said the $50 million in capital funding tagged to upgrade buildings was not a genuine solution. "It's yet another example of the Crown's ongoing failure to prioritise kura kaupapa Māori.' The group said there were close to 40 kura kaupapa Māori that remain on the Minister of Education's property backlog list, and dividing the "limited funding" across all Māori-medium settings, which included Māori immersion units in mainstream schools, will leave kura with "next to nothing". 'We are being kept in the dark," said Wright. "There is no clear breakdown of how this funding will be allocated, no equity in the process, and certainly no commitment to a genuine Treaty-based partnership. Meanwhile, our whānau continue to send their tamariki to kura that are falling apart." Te Rūnanga Nui are calling for an investment plan of $1.25 billion over five years dedicated to property development.
The Spinoff
22-05-2025
- Business
- The Spinoff
Budget 2025: New funding headlines mask deeper cuts to Māori programmes
The government has touted over $700 million in funding for Māori. But when you strip out the reallocated funds and examine what's actually new, the real number is closer to $38m. Meanwhile, more than $750m in Māori-specific initiatives have been axed. Budget 2025 contains some wins for Māori-focused initiatives, but they come in the shadow of substantial cuts across core housing, education and economic development programmes. Among the key announcements: $14 million over four years for Māori wardens, Pacific wardens and the Māori Women's Welfare League. The funding covers transport, volunteer training and admin support. $54m in operational funding and $50m in capital funding for Māori education. This includes new classrooms in Māori medium and kaupapa Māori schools, te reo and tikanga training for 51,000 teachers, and a Virtual Learning Network for STEM education in kura kaupapa. Reallocated funding to add approximately 50 new teaching spaces for te reo Māori learners. A new housing fund to deliver social and affordable rentals, with Māori providers eligible through the Flexible Fund. $40.2m per year from 2025/26 for the Māori Development Fund to support the Tōnui Māori economic growth plan. Finance minister Nicola Willis said the budget showed 'a responsible commitment to all New Zealanders, including tangata whenua' and pointed to new funding as evidence of the government's support for Māori communities. 'Over $700m has been committed to initiatives supporting Māori outcomes,' she said in her budget day address. However, critics argue these investments are overshadowed by sweeping cuts: The Māori Development Fund itself has been cut by $20m over four years, dropping from $45.2m to $40.2m in year one then continuing annually. $32.5m in cuts to Māori housing supply programmes, including the return of unallocated funding from Whai Kāinga Whai Oranga. $36.1m in cuts to Māori education, including disestablishing the Wharekura Expert Teachers programme and removing Māori resource teacher roles. A further $36.1m reprioritised from kaupapa Māori and Māori medium education. The Kāhui Ako collaboration programme, which included many Māori providers, is being slashed by $375.5m. Labour's Māori development spokesperson Willie Jackson said the government 'should hang its head in shame'. He claimed more than $1bn had been stripped from Māori-specific initiatives across the past two budgets. 'This is a government that promised to reduce waste but has instead targeted kaupapa Māori,' Jackson said. 'We're seeing entire housing programmes scrapped, education investment wound back, and economic development sidelined. Meanwhile, they're increasing the ministerial travel budget and rolling out tax cuts that benefit the wealthy.' Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi also blasted the budget, saying it further eroded the Crown's relationship with tangata whenua. 'This budget doesn't build a future for Māori – it builds our demise. A truly responsible budget would fund our solutions, not suppress them.' Despite the headlines, minister Nicola Willis's claim of $700m in Māori funding is largely built on reallocated or pre-announced pūtea. Budget documents reveal only $38m of new money directly allocated to Māori. Other items of note include: Working for Families thresholds have been adjusted to support more low-to-middle income whānau with children. The income threshold has been lifted to $44,900 from $42,700, providing increased payments for many Māori families. Te Pou Tupua and Te Urewera Board retain their income tax exemptions as per their Treaty settlements. Treaty settlement liabilities and the relativity clauses with Waikato-Tainui and Ngāi Tahu remain forecast as fiscal risks, as does the unresolved issue of aquaculture settlement values and timing. Some iwi-led initiatives, such as Toi Tū Tōrangatira in Te Tairāwhiti, have received targeted support through regional infrastructure funds. But others are being consolidated or cut entirely. Māori housing was a central casualty. The Whai Kāinga Whai Oranga programme, established to address chronic shortfalls in Māori housing, is effectively defunded, with the government citing a need to consolidate efforts under the more general Flexible Fund. Jackson called this 'a deliberate dismantling of progress' and said it showed 'the government is walking away from the data'. The reprioritisation of education spending has also drawn criticism. The disestablishment of the Wharekura Expert Teachers programme, removal of Resource Teachers: Māori, and significant funding shifts away from kaupapa Māori and Māori-medium education are seen by many as undermining language revitalisation. 'There's no pathway to revitalising te reo without properly resourcing the people doing the work on the ground,' said Te Kura o Hato Hōhepa Te Kāmura principal Mereana Tipene. 'Repackaging cuts as support doesn't help our kids.' Meanwhile, broader changes to the pay equity regime – part of a plan to reduce future Crown liabilities – are expected to impact thousands of underpaid workers in female-dominated sectors, many of them Māori. PSA national secretary Fleur Fitzsimons called Budget 2025 'a wage theft budget' and accused the government of 'stealing from the working class to fund tax cuts for landlords'. The inclusion of targeted tax deductions for Māori authorities donating to community initiatives, as well as the ongoing tax exemptions for settlement entities, are among the few Treaty-based mechanisms retained in full. In summary, while Budget 2025 contains modest new funding lines for Māori and continues some Treaty obligations, it marks a substantial rollback in dedicated support across housing, education and economic development. Critics say the government is shifting from partnership to assimilation – prioritising universal framing while eroding kaupapa Māori infrastructure built over decades.
