What is in the Māori Budget 2024?

Finance Minister Nicola Willis expresses confidence that the Budget will deliver benefits for Māori.

Willis said her government focused on Māori needs rather than targeted Māori funding.

So what’s in this budget for Māori?

Health

Dissolving the Te Aka Whai Ora Māori Health Authority will save the government $35.5 million.

Frontline services previously provided by Te Aka Whai Ora will now be provided thanks to increased funding to Health New Zealand, Te Whatu Ora.

Health Minister Dr. Shane Reti said the budget prioritizes health services and frontline workers.

“We want the health sector to be able to plan for the future with confidence, knowing that our government will always prioritize increasing investment in the services it provides,” he said.

Education

$1.5 billion will be allocated to educational assets. This includes $12 million to maintain the Kōhanga Reo property over four years.

Education Minister Erica Stanford said the total investment includes funding for new schools, classrooms and school maintenance.

“This investment will also enable us to repair and modernize existing buildings, improving learning conditions for students and their teachers,” she said.

Funding priority for Te Kawa Matakura, a qualification focusing on mātauranga-a-iwi, will be changed.

This will contribute $21.9 million to the Ministry of Education’s savings target.

Flats

$40 million in current funding for new Māori housing supply and opportunities has been cut. This will refund uncontracted funding.

$20 million was returned to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development for transitional housing in Rangatahi, with this funding also uncontracted.

Kapa Haka

The Matatini received another injection in this year’s budget, from 2025 they will receive $48.7 million over three years.

This concerns the amount of USD 34 million that the National Kapa Haka Festival received over two years as part of the 2023 budget.

Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka said the funding would enable Te Matatini to implement a regional kapa haka model.

“Te Matatini’s financial certainty for the coming years is one thing, but it will also ensure that through kapa haka Te Reo, Māori and Māori culture can be enjoyed throughout Aotearoa New Zealand. This will help us celebrate the ongoing revitalization of our language and tikanga,” he said.

Te Arawhiti – Crown Māori Relations

Over the next year, $3.6 million will be donated to Crowns Response to Wakatū Litigation and related proceedings.

The case, the longest-running property dispute in Aotearoa, concerns land around Nelson that was to be reserved for Maori, known as the Nelson Tenths.

And $9.5 million of historic Treaty of Waitangi settlement funds will be returned to Te Arawhiti.

Applicants will continue to have access to the funds to which they are entitled.

Other funding cuts

Grant funding for the Aotearoa Reorua (Bilingual Towns and Cities) program has been cut by more than half. Funding will be reduced by $0.7 million per year, leaving approximately $0.4 million per year.

Funding for Mātauranga Māori-led approaches to reducing agricultural emissions has been abolished. All uncommitted funds under the initiative will be repaid, resulting in savings of $37 million for the Ministry of Primary Industries over four years.

The initiative was originally funded by the Climate Emergency Response Fund.