Hāpai Te Hauora says Budget 2025 is not a Budget for
whānau – it is a Budget for landlords, corporates, and
cuts.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis promised no lolly
scramble; but somehow, the sweet stuff still landed in
boardrooms and business accounts, while the pantry stayed
locked for whānau.
“This Budget is a choice – and
that choice is clear,” says Jacqui Harema, CEO of Hāpai Te
Hauora. “A choice to gut pay equity. A choice to ask
rangatahi to prove their poverty. A choice to back the
boardroom while gutting community support.”
Businesses
receive a 20% tax write-off on new assets. Meanwhile,
whānau get 25-cent KiwiSaver contributions, tighter benefit
rules, and income-tested child payments. “A baby’s best
start now depends on a parent’s payslip – that’s not
equity,” Harema says.
The wealthy retain
their capital gains. Yet rangatahi on Jobseeker now face new
restrictions based on their parents’ income. “We’re
means-testing the vulnerable while letting privilege off the
hook.”
Health receives funding, but only
just. Emergency departments remain overwhelmed. Nurses are
still burning out. And while primary care sees a modest
boost, there is no targeted investment in Māori health –
and prevention is notably missing.
“If we want to
reduce long-term costs and create better outcomes, we must
fund prevention,” says Jason Alexander, COO of Hāpai. “That
means backing kaupapa Māori solutions before harm happens –
not waiting until our people are in crisis.”
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Education
receives $2.5 billion, but $614 million of that comes from
scrapped initiatives. Programmes like Kāhui Ako are axed,
and school lunches (Ka Ora, Ka Ako) are set to expire in
2026. “You do not build brighter futures by cutting kai from
classrooms,” says Harema.
Tax cuts favour
business, while low- to middle-income families receive just
$14 more a fortnight under Working for Families tweaks –
roughly the cost of a pack of
nappies.
This Budget did not prioritise
Māori health, wellbeing, or equity. It disestablished Te
Aka Whai Ora, clawed back unspent Māori housing funds, and
continued the short-term funding cycle.
Hāpai Te
Hauora’s Budget 2025 Wishlist
included:
- Investment in Māori-led
housing - Protection of school lunch
programmes - Long-term contracts for Māori health
services - Increased income support and kaupapa Māori
employment pathways - Serious investment in
prevention
What we got instead were cuts,
exclusions, and short-term gains.
“This is not the
Budget for tamariki. Not for our mokopuna. Not for our
taiao,” Harema says. “Whānau deserve
better.”
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