The Government is framing Budget 2026 around fiscal restraint, investment in frontline services, and broader economic growth, with just one targeted initiative specifically for Māori included in the package.
READ: Te Ao Māori News political reporter Mani Dunlop’s analysis of Budget 2026
4:58 pm
Ko te pikinga o ngā utu ki ngā ratonga pāpāhō Māori tērā e kōrerotia ana e te pae wānanga, e te Tahua 2026, kia ahatia, he kitenga pai te piki o ngā nama ki te $48 miriona hei ngā tau e toru kei mua i te aroaro.
E ai ki a Kaapua Smith, ahakoa kei raro te Māori e pūtu ana i roto i ngā āhuatanga maha o roto i te Tahua nei, he toahanga tēnei pikinga nama ki te iwi Māori, e tutuki ai ngā ratonga pāpāhō Māori ki tā rātou i kī taurangi ai, kia mauri ora te reo Māori.
4:53 pm
Rawiri Waititi said Māori receive just 0.24 per cent of the Budget despite making up about 20 per cent of the population, arguing this reflects ongoing inequity and over-representation in negative social outcomes.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis said the Budget is designed to serve all New Zealanders, including Māori.
He said “one-size-fits-all” approaches continue to fail Māori, and called for more equitable, targeted investment rather than assimilation-based policy settings.
“It’s not going to work; assimilation has never worked,“ Waititi expressed.
4:46 pm
“How does this Budget serve Māori communities?”
That was the question put directly to Finance Minister Nicola Willis as debate continues over who stands to benefit most from the Government’s latest Budget.
Willis rejected the criticism, saying: “I completely reject that characterisation. Māori want the same thing as every other New Zealander. They want the 220,000 more jobs we are forecasting.”
She also pointed to targeted investments in kura kaupapa Māori, Māori education services, and Māori health providers. Willis added that the Government was addressing the “fiscal cliff” facing Māori broadcasting funding, which she said had been left unresolved by the previous government.
4:34 pm
Health received the largest share of funding in Budget 2026, but concerns remain about whether increased investment will translate into real system change.
Whetu Rangi says funding alone will not fix the deeper structural pressures facing the health system.
He points to ongoing strain across hospitals and primary care, particularly in rural and regional areas where workforce shortages are already acute. A key concern is the loss of medical staff to Australia, driven by higher wages and more affordable living conditions across the Tasman.
The question, he says, is not just how much is being spent, but how effectively Aotearoa is training, supporting and retaining primary care workers in a system that is increasingly stretched.
Te Kahukura Boynton says her focus on health is rooted in the belief that wellbeing sits at the centre of broader social and economic outcomes.
She argues that when a person’s health needs are addressed first, they are better able to contribute to whānau, communities, and the wider economy, strengthening long-term development beyond immediate policy settings.
4:18 pm
E kōrero atu ana a Shane Jones ki te kaikawe pūrongo o Te Ao Māori News, ki a Tini Molyneux me ōna whakaaro e pā atu ana ki te Tahua 2026. Hei tāna ehara i te mea he nui te pūtea e āhei ana te whakatohatoha atu ki ngā kaupapa Māori, me te mōhio hoki ahakoa he iti, he pounamu.
3:45 pm
Consulting partner at KPMG, Kaapua Smith, reiterated that the Budget was disappointing overall, noting that expectations for Māori have remained low in recent years and that the package does not appear to deliver meaningful support for vulnerable whānau Māori.
Founder of Māori Millionaire, Te Kahukura Boynton, said the Budget leaned more toward equality-based policies rather than equity, adding that while funding for Māori media was welcomed, a more holistic approach was needed to address deeper structural needs and better enable Māori to engage with and benefit from Māori media.
Head of Māori Business at Bank of New Zealand (BNZ), Whetū Rangi said he was disappointed not to see stronger investment in Māori busines
3:32 pm
Te Ao Māori News reporters Mani Dunlop and Tini Molyneux are in Parliament providing their analysis of the event.
3:30 pm
The panel analysts for Whakaata Māori’s coverage are Whetu Rangi, Head of Māori Business at BNZ, Kaapua Smith, consulting partner at KPMG, and Te Kahukura Boynton, founder of Māori Millionaire.
3:00 pm
Economist Ganesh Nana, who was in this year’s Budget lockup inside Parliament, described this year’s Budget to Roihana Nuri, founder of Aukaha News, as “pretty disappointing” and more of the same.
While $48 million has been announced for Māori media, he says it is not a significant increase.
“I wouldn’t see it as any ability to improve or lift the advocacy or the contribution of Māori media to the overall media landscape,” Nana says.
“And I suppose the downside is that it’s balanced by effectively a $6 million reduction in the baseline funding for Te Puni Kōkiri.”
Regarding the child poverty report, Nana said: “Everything in here and in the figures does not send any signal that we’re going to reduce the amount of child poverty in Aotearoa over the next four years.”
2:12 pm
The Government says the Budget package includes an average net operating allowance of just $2.1 billion per year, with major spending concentrated in health, education, infrastructure, defence, housing and law and order.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis says the Budget is designed to “secure New Zealand’s future” through a mix of savings, reprioritisation and targeted investment.
See below for the latest Budget announcements and key takeaways as details are released.
2 pm
The 2026 Budget is being announced in the House by Nicola Willis, the Minister of Finance.
The Government is set to deliver this year’s Budget today from 2 pm.
The Budget sets out how the Government plans to spend public money and manage the economy for the financial year ahead, including funding decisions and policy changes.
From cuts to social housing, the public sector and education, to the scrapping of the Fees Free university scheme, see our coverage below of the pre-Budget announcements affecting Te Ao Māori.
As the Government prepares to unveil what it has branded a “responsible” Budget focused on “getting the books in order”, Māori economists, advocates and politicians are warning Māori communities could once again bear the brunt of tighter spending and continued cuts.
Budget 2026 is expected to be one of the tightest in recent years, with the Government forecasting a $13.9 billion deficit this financial year while limiting new spending to around $2.1 billion, much of it already committed.
The coalition Government has framed the Budget as one focused on fiscal repair amid global economic uncertainty and ongoing instability in the Middle East.
But Māori advocates say for many whānau already struggling with rising living costs, housing pressures and cuts to Māori-focused initiatives, the Budget signals more hardship ahead.
Last year’s Budget saw tens of millions of dollars cut from Māori housing programmes, including Whai Kāinga Whai Oranga, with critics arguing Māori housing initiatives were effectively dismantled under the Government’s wider housing overhaul.
Leaders say Māori-medium schools deliver for whānau but lack resources to match rising demand
As the government’s 2026 Budget announcement fast approaches, kura kaupapa Māori are seeking greater recognition following successful outcomes in nationwide exam statistics.
Since 2023, kura kaupapa Māori and their students have seen high pass rates in nationwide exams, with kura kaupapa Māori students achieving at higher rates and more students attaining University Entrance.
Despite the success, kura kaupapa Māori are calling for greater recognition and adequate funding to ensure better access to resources and support for their communities.
However, the government has already made announcements with $131 million going towards Government’s “Teaching the Basics Brilliantly” programme, targeting reading, writing and maths support across primary and intermediate Years 0-10.
Associate Education Minister David Seymour also announced $212 million in funding to keep the Healthy School Lunches programme running for another year extending it through to 2027.
Cuts to Māori housing funds and higher rent contributions leave providers bracing for crisis
Anticipation is growing in light of major cuts to Māori Housing Development funding last year and recently, a pre-budget announcement from the Minister of Housing, Chris Bishop, on plans to raise income-related rent contribution for social housing tenants from 25 per cent to 30 per cent.
Te Ao Māori News took to the streets and found the issues of most concern were homelessness, social and transitional housing.
Associate Minister for Housing, Tama Potaka, says the government has committed over 450 million dollars to Māori housing providers to build Affordable Housing, but couldn’t give several details on how much has been spent on Māori development in the last year, saying there is a variety of different funding streams.
With Te Aka Whai Ora gone, Māori providers await clarity on funding and priorities
Finance Minister Nicola Willis says Budget 2026 will focus on core services such as health, education, and law and order, while maintaining tight spending.
The Government has already signalled health initiatives including expanded urgent and after-hours care, improved GP access, continued funding for Pharmac and cancer treatments, mental health support, longer prescriptions where appropriate, and a $35 million boost for ambulance services over four years.
Māori health advocates say it is still unclear how much of this funding will directly reach Māori-led providers.
Pharmac has proposed widening access to key diabetes medicines while removing Māori and Pacific ethnicity-based eligibility pathways.
Associate Health Minister David Seymour and Health Minister Simeon Brown say the changes ensure treatment is based on “clinical need, not race” and could expand access.
Treaty reforms raise stakes for Māori services
This year’s Budget comes ahead of an election that could either strengthen or weaken the coalition’s chances of re-election.
As it approaches, concerns remain over how the government’s recent moves to weaken Te Tiriti may affect funding for Māori services and initiatives.
In a recent Waitangi Tribunal finding, found the government’s proposed education law reforms are a “major breach” of Te Tiriti.
A claim that Prime Minister Christopher Luxon rejected, and defended along with other reforms as necessary to create “clarity” and “certainty” across the 19 other legislation amendments.
Fees-free university scheme scrapped
The Government has also confirmed it will scrap the fees-free tertiary education scheme, which helps cover tertiary study costs for students at universities across Aotearoa.
Officials say the policy has not met its goal of increasing university participation for students from lower socio-economic backgrounds.
New Zealand Qualifications Authority data shows Māori students had the lowest University Entrance rates in 2025, with about one in three Year 13 students gaining entry to university.
Education groups say this shows ongoing issues with access to tertiary study, especially for students already facing financial or academic barriers.
