Employment Minister Willie Jackson says there was support across the coalition for the targeted funding for Māori contained in the Budget.

Budget 2018 drew fire for being light on Māori-specific initiatives, with its emphasis on universal policies like the Families Package, but this year there are big investments in whānau ora, Māori prison rehabilitation, Māori land development and te reo Māori.

Mr Jackson says more than half a billion dollars in new funding is going into those policies, as the Government adopts a dual strategy of universal funding as well as targeted interventions for areas of high need.

"Was there an outburst from New Zealand First? No. they've been some of our biggest supporters because they know, Winston knows, if there is a need you must fund it. They've been supportive, obviously the Greens too but I'm mentioning New Zealand First in particular because they were singled out as a group who would block targeted Māori funding. That hasn’t been the case," he says.

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