Finance Minister Nicola Willis has unveiled this afternoon what she calls a “Growth Budget under tight restraint.”
The Budget has set out new spending and the savings made from pay-equity changes and other cuts.
See below the budget announcements.
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3:50 pm
What do the TAHUA 2025 panel experts say?
Panel analysts Shamubeel Eaqub & Kaapua Smith breakdown on five themes that matter to whānau — Health, Housing, Education, Law & Order, and Māori Development.
Smith says, “I’m going to call it mainstreaming. Mainstreaming of Māori money. You have a couple of Māori initiatives sprinkled throughout the budget. But they feel very limited.”
“My expectation is that Māori should get a proportion of all the initiatives for which there is new money, but it is pretty concerning. ”
“I mean, the need is there. The data shows that there was a need for Maori development initiatives specifically tailored to Maori and Pacific, and disability and rural communities that are just not reflected in this budget.”
Eaqub says, “I feel like we kind of have this high kind of theoretical kind of conversations that are absolutely correct. Yes, devolution is a good thing. We know with the Whānau Ora model and others that if you do it well, it has really great outcomes. But are we actually doing that? Is that what you see in this budget? Do you see that in the actions and the policies that are being pursued? I don’t.”
3:40 pm
Raewyn Himona, Vice President of the NZEI, says she doesn’t see anything in this year’s budget that will make a difference, she says this year’s budget lacks evidence.
“No, I’m not seeing anything at all.”
“The proof is going to be in the data. Governments come in and out, and it’s always about data. But, there is no data showing what success is going to look like.”
3:35 pm
Ki Te Manawatū kei raro i te maru o Te Reo o Te Uru, ko Regan Paranihi.
Anei tana pūrongo:
Kei te taiwhanga Pāpaoho o Te Ao Māori News a Maioha Panapa.
Kua horahia katoahia ngā kai kei te kete kai a te Kāwanatanga haumi, me te aha, ko ētahi i whai hua, ko ētahi, karekau.
- $182.4m ki te tautoko i ngā whānau ki te kimi whare.
- $382m kua tohaina ki kaupapa kē atu, kua tango i ngā kaupapa Māori
- $125m kua tango i a Kāinga ora.
- $75m ka tohaina e te kāwanantanga ki te whakawhanake i ētahi whare hou mō ngā mema o te iwi e noho taumaha ana.
The governments recent announcement will see $75 million go towards developing these new homes for iwi members with high-needs.
Willie Te Aho, Toitū Tairāwhiti, says “Ētahi o a tātou whānau kei te noho i te whare kau, arā, te cow shed. Ētahi o a tātou whānau, rua tekau ngā tāngata e noho ana i te whare kotahi, over crowding. Nō reirā, me ngākau nui tātou ki o tātou whānau e noho ana ki roto i te pōharatanga.”
“Some of our families are living in a cow shed. Some of our families, twenty people are living in one house, overcrowding. Therefore, we must all be very concerned about our families who are living in poverty.”
Hei tā te kaikawe pūrongo o Te Ao Māori News, a Riria Dalton-Reedy, kāore he tino hua kua puta ki te Māori i tēnei tau. Me te aha, ina te nui o ngā moni kua whakakorea i te pūkoro o Te Puni Kōkiri.
“$1.5m: Ki ngā wātene Māori, $13.2m: Te rōpū wāhine Māori toko i te ora, -$382m: kua tangohia i te puni kōkiri mō ngā take whare, ka tohaina ki wāhi kē atu.” hei tā Dalton-Reedy.
Ko te kaikawe pūrongo o Te Ao Māori News, a Michael Cugley i kōrero atu ki te hiamana o Ngāti Kahungunu, ki a Bayden Barber ki te kohi i ōna whakaaro mō te tahua pūtea i tēnei tau.
Ko te kaikawe pūrongo o Aukaha News, a Te Kawa Paora kei Rotorua nui a Kahumatamomoe.
He spoke with Waikato Women’s Refuge spokesperson Roni Albert, who says she has no confidence in any change with the government. “Why I say that because of what I’ve seen, just with the recent government is not available anymore.”
3:00 pm
Our reporters across the country bring us the latest from their regions.
Te Ao Māori News and the Māori Media Collective, including Aukaha News, Te Reo o Te Uru, Tahu News, and Te Ao with Moana.
Finance Minister Nicola Wilis has announced the following as part of her Budget 2025:
Health:
- $5.5 b Hospital & Specialist Services
- $1b Health Infrastructure
- $447 m Accessibility to GP Nurse
Housing:
- $182.4 m Support Services, Transitional Housing, and Social Housing
- $382 m Māori Housing Program redistributed to general
2:40 pm
Willis announces budget allocation to Law and Order:
- $480 m for frontline policing
- $472 m to manage prison growth
- $35 m to fight drug smuggling and combat organised crime.
- $14 m to lift Māori and Pasifika Wardens and Māori Women’s Welfare League support.
Thus, the only recipient of new spending in the Māori Development fund are Māori Wardens with a total of $13.2 million across the forecast.
In terms of savings, the Māori Development Fund sees a reduction of $5 million per annum.
2:36 pm
Finance Minister Nicola Willis announces budget allocation to Education:
- $646 m for children with additional learning needs.
- $100 m maths-achievement package (intervention teachers + new “maths-check” tool).
- $140 m to create a national truancy service - a National and ACT coalition policy.
2:30 pm
Te Ao Māori News Political Reporter Māni Dunlop joins our TAHUA 2025 broadcast, and talks about budget allocation to health and Māori housing.
See Dunlop’s analysis below:
2:20 pm
Outside parliament, Te Ao with Moana journalist Jess Tyson spoke to Labour’s spokesperson Carmel Sepuloni, who is standing behind every wahine across the country.
See Tyson’s interview with Sepuloni below:
2:15 pm
Te Ao Māori News Producer, Whaititiri Te Wake, says not a lot for Māori in the budget.
However, Te Kōhanga Reo National Trust recieved $4.1 million over four years.
He says, NZ First’s Shane Jones also secured Māori Wardens with a total of $13.2 million.
2:05 pm
Finance Minister Nicola Willis opens the “Growth Budget”, framed around a tight $1.3 b annual operating allowance - the leanest in a decade -
- the lowest allowance in a decade - many cuts from kaupapa Māori.
2:00 pm
LIVE NOW — Minister of Finance Nicola Willis takes the floor. Watch the live-stream and refresh for the key numbers as they’re read.
“We take seriously our roles as custodians of taxpayer money,” says Willis.
“The government can repurpose $2.7 billion a year on average, towards budget priorities like health, like education and law and order.” says Willis.
1:55 pm
Pre-Budget chants are echoing outside Parliament as pay-equity protestors gather. Te Ao with Moana journalist Jess Tyson is there and says hundreds have gathered outside, rallying and concerned about cuts potentially taken out of their services.
Stay tuned as we count down to the Finance Minister’s speech from 2 pm.
1:55 pm
Our TAHUA 2025 panel experts weigh in:
Kaapua Smith says she wants to know what’s been cut, what’s been replacing these needs for Māori.
“How much has been cut from Māori this year?, I think this government has been focused on needs rather than race…”
“...there are still needs that Māori have that are critical whether that happens will soon see.
1:50 pm
Kia ora e te iwi — we’re live!
Our studio host for TAHUA 2025 is Julian Wilcox. Stay tuned as we’ll bring you every number, reaction, and regional angle as Finance Minister Nicola Willis unveils what she calls a “Growth Budget under tight restraint,” scheduled for 2 pm.Our TAHUA 2025 panel experts are Shamubeel Eaqub & Kaapua Smith. Eaqub is a Principle economist at the NZ Institute of Economic Research, and one of Aotearoa’s most influential economic commentators.
Smith, is Partner at KPMG, is a leader in Māori economic development.
How to follow:
Refresh for rolling posts, watch TAHUA 2025 broadcast on MĀORI+, or join the kōrero livestream here on Te Ao Māori News website on Whakaata Māori from 1.50 pm.
And follow on our social platforms on YouTube, Facebook Live & Instagram.
Tahua 2025: What will come from the budget to affect climate change? Iwi in Taranaki are up in arms over plans to grant seabed mining consents.
Anei te pūrongo a Aroha Broughton-Pue nō Te Reo o te Uru.
Whakaata Māori’s own Budget-2025 Audience Poll has shown 9 in 10 Māori households find life is getting harder, and 87 percent oppose more service cuts.
Today’s kōrero is more than politics: it’s about whether real pūtea reaches Māori households, our rohe, marae, the clinic, and the classroom.
What’s at stake? Aotearoa’s cost-of-living squeeze has hit Māori hardest — 87 % of survey respondents rank it a top concern alongside Māori wellbeing.
See some of the results from our survey which will be discussed by our panelists on our TAHUA 2025 broadcast.
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What do we know so far?
Nicola Willis says budget promises strong support for Māori and their whānau.
Willis, who spoke to Te Ao Māori News, said Māori should have confidence that today’s budget will deliver for them and their whānau.
“This is a budget that delivers sound economic management, investments, and things New Zealanders need and a recipe for growth,” says Willis.
Giving a preview of the Budget 2025 announcement, she said the savings are being invested in education services, better health services, funding the police, and rebuilding New Zealand’s defence capability.
“They should also know their priorities for their tamariki are our priorities, and in particular, our education minister has been considering how we can ensure greater student achievement, including for Māori students,” Willis added.
For more on this story, see this article.
Here is the breakdown of Pre-budget Announcements:
Defence
- $2 b for maritime helicopter replacement.
- $957 m for extra capability, personnel, and estate upgrades.
Health
- $164 m to expand urgent & after-hours care (five new 24-hour clinics + rural reach)
- $604 m Pharmac medicines fund covering up to 54 drugs, including 26 cancer treatments.
Education
- $140 m to launch a national school-attendance service targeting truancy.
- $100 m maths-achievement package: intervention teachers, tutoring, and a “maths-check” tool.
Social Services
- $190 m Social Investment Fund as the centre-piece of a $275 m package.
- $774 m to improve redress for survivors of state abuse.
- $35 m to boost Customs’ fight against drug smuggling.
- $1.5 m per year baseline funding lift for Māori Wardens.
Infrastructure & Transport
- $600 m for rail-network renewals and metro upgrades (–$461 m freight, $144 m metro).
Economic Development
- $577 m top-up for the International Screen Production Rebate.
- $100 m for the Elevate NZ venture-capital fund.
Whakaata Māori’s special broadcast, Tahua 2025, hosted by Julian Wilcox.
Brought to you by Te Ao Māori News and the Māori Media Collective, including Aukaha, Te Reo o Te Uru, Tahu News, Te Ao with Moana, and The Hui.
The live stream is available on MĀORI+, here on Te Ao Māori News website, and broadcast live on Whakaata Māori from 1.50 pm.
And follow on our social platforms on YouTube, Facebook Live & Instagram.
