This year’s budget saw not much aroha provided for the Māori sector apart from Te Matatini and Whānau Ora which saw some new funding and possible helping hands for regional businesses.
Ironically, the budget introduced a new tax calculator, which revealed that the coalition’s flagship tax cut policy will benefit Pākehā more than Māori.
Te Ao Māori News had a panel of commentators with presenter Peata Melbourne and our reporters had an economist with them in the budget lock-up in Wellington
These are their views of the budget.
‘Back to basics’
Economist and professor Matthew Roskruge (Te Atiawa, Ngāti Tama) was one of the first people in New Zealand to see the top-secret document before it was made public.
He said the energy of the journalists and economists going into the lockup was quiet due to the government already making its intentions clear prior.
“The jawboning from the government had been around a more quiet, not big spending, trying to be fiscally neutral budget. People were expecting some big cuts and the cuts are there.
“It’s one of those budgets, I think, would best be described as back to basics.
“There’s nothing in there for Māori development, they’re finishing up, winding up all of the initiatives that have been announced.
“It’ll be interesting to see where they go with Māori development, the spotlight being well and truly off there in this budget,” Roskruge said.
‘Disproportionately Māori do not benefit’
Heading back up to the Whakaata Māori Auckland team, Victoria University associate professor and political commentator, Lara Greaves (Ngāpuhi, Tararā) said the National-led government budget didn’t benefit Māori.
“I think when we look at the economic profile of Māori and we look at where the prioritisation of tax cuts has been, I think that disproportionately, Māori do not benefit from these changes
“I’m kind of happy that they have adjusted the tax brackets because that seems to be something that across parties people have said we should do, that seems to be a multipartisan agreement, but fundamentally this tax package does seem to be really targeted at people who are in work.
“So I think that part of the economic profile is actually quite a negative if we look at the negative profile of many Māori,” she said.
‘Māori suffer even greater’
Māori broadcaster Julian Wilcox (Ngāpuhi, Te Arawa) said the biggest problem was the disestablishing of jobs, with no plans to develop employment.
“Mehemea e pērā, e piki ake te rēti koremahi ki te 4.3% i te marama o Maehe, mehemea e pērā, e kore e kore ka tata atu ki te 5%. Ki te maremare a Aotearoa, ko te iwi Māori ka rewharewha pau te kaha. Nā reira, i runga i tērā whakaaro, e kore e kore, ka piki ake te tokomaha o ngā Māori e noho koremahi ana, ā, ki te mārō te ahunga o tēnei kāwanatanga ki te hunga whiwhi penihana, whiwhi penewhiti rānei, ko te Māori anō hoki tērā ka tino rongo i te mamae. Nō reira, ka nui aku māharahara i tērā tū āhuaranga.”
“With the rate of unemployment rising to 4.3% in March, there is no doubt that it would now be closer to 5%. If New Zealand suffers, Māori suffer even greater. So, because of that, Māori unemployment will most certainly rise, and if the government continues a hard line on beneficiaries, again Māori will suffer. So, I have real concerns with that situation,” Wilcox said.
Currently, 5120 public service staff are facing job losses following the government requirement that the departments cut their costs. In Budget 2024, the government confirmed reaching its target of $1.5 billion in average annual operating savings. Finance Minister Nichola Willis did not rule out the prospect of further job reductions.
‘TPK is up on the block’
Former Māori affairs minister and MP Tau Henare (Ngāti Hine, Ngāpuhi) said he believed “TPK is up on the block”. Te Pūni Kōkiri [TPK]/the Māori Development Ministry is facing an $18 million expense cut for the 2024/25 fiscal year.
“You know, how you get your home or your car ready for sale. There’s no new money, you’re going to have to clean the carpets with what you had last year.
“Is that going to be the push over the next two to three years moving away from Te Puni Kōkiri, away from the hands-on public service to a new model, and I can only suggest that it might be,” Henare said.
Watch the full coverage of commentary and political reactions to the coalition government’s first budget in the video above