May 20, 2022
Real money headed to Māori communities
A Māori policy specialist says Budget 2022 will be good for Māori.
Atawhai Tibble says coming on top of a solid Budget last year, there’s a platform for progress.
The provision of $188 million for the new Māori Health Authority to commission services means Māori providers who have proved themselves during the pandemic can take the next step forward.
“I can see a lot of Māori words and they’re not just browning up the Budget. There’s actual money that is going to go to our communities, going to go to our people, whether it be in mātauranga Māori education, $28 million towards Te Pae Tawhiti which means they’re really going to try to get a grip on the Wai 262 intellectual property (claim), there’s a whole lot of things in environmental change, the Māori media,” he says.
Mr Tibble says the Budget shows that Finance Minister Grant Robertson can handle money, with New Zealand’s credit rates remaining high despite the National Party’s talk of wasteful spending.