Hāpai Te Hauora says Budget 2026 has delivered some welcome investment, but still falls short of the long-term prevention and Māori-led solutions communities have been calling for.
Ahead of the Budget, Hāpai Te Hauora called for a Budget that listens to whānau and communities, with stronger investment in prevention, warm and healthy homes, safe sleep support, kaupapa Māori antenatal wānanga, climate resilience, healthy school lunches, and Māori-led wellbeing initiatives.
Following the announcement, the organisation acknowledged funding for frontline services, climate resilience, extended postnatal stays for new māmā, and the continuation of healthy school lunches.
Hāpai Te Hauora says extended postnatal stays are a positive step and could help strengthen support for whānau through safe sleep planning, breastfeeding support, and kaupapa Māori antenatal education.
The continuation of healthy school lunches has also been welcomed, particularly as many whānau continue facing food insecurity and cost-of-living pressure. However, the organisation says there is still room to improve quality, nutrition, and portion sizes for growing tamariki and rangatahi.
But Hāpai Te Hauora says the Budget still places too much focus on responding to crisis rather than preventing harm before it happens.
Chief executive Jacqui Harema says communities across Aotearoa are already leading solutions, but need a Budget that properly backs them.
The organisation says rising living costs, housing stress, stretched health services, and climate-related emergencies are continuing to hit whānau hard, with communities often stepping in long before government systems do.
Hāpai Te Hauora says the Government has described Budget 2026 as responsible economic management, but for many communities it feels more like austerity, with spending cuts shifting the burden onto people already under pressure.
Housing is a major concern. The organisation says Aotearoa is experiencing one of the worst homelessness crises in recent history, and the Budget does not meet the urgency facing whānau in insecure, overcrowded, or unsafe housing.
It says future social housing measures may help over time, but communities need action now.
Hāpai Te Hauora is also warning that without investment in prevention, pressure will continue to build across frontline services.
The organisation says primary health, emergency support, housing services, and community providers will keep carrying the consequences if the root causes of hardship are not addressed.
For Hāpai Te Hauora, the message is clear: prevention works, Māori-led solutions work, and whānau wellbeing must be treated as a priority — not an afterthought.
The organisation says it will continue advocating for long-term investment that strengthens communities before crisis point, rather than expecting whānau to carry the cost of decisions that fail to invest early.
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