Pacific services face Budget uncertainty as MPs warn of deeper cuts and mergers

Pacific public servants and the communities they serve are facing fresh uncertainty ahead of the Government’s Budget, with opposition MPs warning further cuts could directly impact Pacific families.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis will deliver her Budget on Thursday with expectations of further public service cuts and spending reductions across agencies.

Speaking with William Terite on Pacific Mornings ahead of Budget Day, Labour leader Chris Hipkins says he would be “very surprised” if the Ministry for Pacific Peoples (MPP) did not face significant cuts under the coalition Government.

The Government has not confirmed any changes to MPP ahead of the Budget.

“They’ve already been really clear," Hipkins says. "They don’t see the value of agencies like the Ministry for Pacific Peoples or Te Puni Kōkiri for Māori communities or the Ministry for Ethnic Communities.

“So I think we can expect to see pretty big cuts in those areas if this Government gets the chance to do that.”

More than 1000 people gathered in Wellington on 24 May in a rally against the Government’s cuts to public services and the workers who deliver them. Photo/PSA Facebook.

The Government has not signalled any decisions on the Ministry for Pacific Peoples ahead of the Budget.

Green MP Teanau Tuiono is also concerned about the future of the MPP and has submitted parliamentary written questions about whether it could be merged.

He says the ministry plays an important role because New Zealand is part of the Pacific region and has deep relationships with Pacific nations and diaspora communities.

Watch Chris Hipkins' full interview below.

He pointed to New Zealand’s Treaty of Friendship with Sāmoa, its realm relationships with the Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau, and the large Pacific communities living in Aotearoa.

In October 2025 the Prime Minister Christopher Luxon told Pacific Mornings that MPP would not be merged with another agency during this current Parliamentary term. However, Deputy Prime Minister and ACT leader David Seymour continues to question the function that MPP plays.

The comments come as Willis has signalled further cuts of about 8700 public service jobs by mid-2029, saying the 14 percent reduction will save $2.4 billion, with greater use of AI and department mergers to help agencies keep delivering services with fewer staff.

The Public Service Association says a survey of 3,320 public service workers shows agencies are already under pressure.

The survey found 58 per cent of workers say their agency was not adequately staffed to do a good job, while 56 per cent said there were not enough staff for safe and reasonable workloads.

More than half say their agency’s ability to deliver had worsened over the past year.

Watch Teanau Tuiono's full interview below.

PSA national secretary Fleur Fitzsimons says workers were being stretched to breaking point.

“Corners are being cut. Institutional knowledge is walking out the door. Only the bare minimum is being done,” Fitzsimons says.

She says the Government’s planned headcount cuts would make service delivery worse.

The PSA also rejected the idea that artificial intelligence or department mergers could make up for thousands of job losses.

“The Government claims AI and department mergers will fill the gap,” Fitzsimons says. “Not one AI expert in the past week said AI could replace thousands of workers. It’s fantasy.”

The Budget is expected to sharpen debate over whether Government savings will come at the cost of frontline services, jobs, and culturally specific support for Pacific communities.