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Download AudioMāori Development Minister Willie Jackson says Māori will benefit from the whole Budget, and not just the targeted Māori funding.
The Budget includes a $350 cost of living payment for people earning less than $70,000 who don’t already qualify for the winter energy payment.
There’s $11.1 billion for health, including $1.8 billion to clear the debts of the 20 DHBs so Health NZ can start with a clean slate on July 1, and just $168m over four years for the Māori Health Authority to directly commission hauora Māori services.
“We had to get resourcing into Māori health. We had to get Whānau Ora across the line. In my view we had to get money into the economic area and some of the work programmes, Māori trade training all funded, and of course, Māori broadcasting has been a baby of mine that I’ve wanted to keep turning around and you see the significant funding, $40 million in that area,” he says.
Willie Jackson says the majority of Māori don’t access kaupapa Māori services, so arguing for budget allocations purely on a population basis doesn’t work.
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