Willis vows ‘very good Budget’ for Pasifika

The Finance Minister says the Budget will be suitable for Pacific families.

But Nicola Willis has declined to confirm whether the Ministry for Pacific Peoples will face further cuts.

“The Pacific community will benefit from this Budget because this Budget demonstrates that there will be more jobs in the future, and there will be more that you want to see,” Willis told the media on Wednesday.

“Also, we've had an eye on the education and health services that Pacific communities rely on, and I think this will be a very good Budget for them.”

Last year saw a $26 million cut to the Minister for Pacific Peoples (MPP) and cuts to programmes such as the Tupu Tai Internship Programme, with funding for the Pacific Cooperation Foundation also ceasing.

Despite the cuts, Willis did introduce a new childcare payment.

FamilyBoost is a childcare payment available to low- to middle-income families with children aged five and under, aiming to help offset the costs of early childhood education.

This year, Willis remained tight-lipped about what the Budget means for MPP.

“As I've made clear, every government agency was asked to look at the savings, and we've been judicious about the savings.”

Nicola Willis says this year's Budget is not one of 'unicorns and rainbows'. Photo/PMN News/Ala Vailala

What is ‘the Budget’?

This year’s “Growth Budget” or “No BS Budget” (as Willis has nicknamed it) is Willis’ second budget as Finance Minister.

The document is the primary means by which the Government determines where to allocate allowances and is announced annually on ‘Budget Day’ in May.

“I'm confident the choices we've made will ensure that New Zealand's economic recovery, which is just underway, will be secured, will continue, and that we will have higher growth into the future,” Willis says.

“I also want to be clear, economic recovery is not guaranteed. To preserve economic recovery, we need to make very careful choices as a country.”

This year’s Budget’s operating allowance has been cut from $2.4 billion to $1.3 billion - nearly half of what previous governments had to work with.

Nicola Willis and Housing Minister Chris Bishop speak to the media on Wednesday. Photo/PMN News/Ala Vailala

Nervous wait for public servants

Fleur Fitzsimons, the national secretary of the Public Service Association, says the upcoming Budget will reveal how much further public services will be cut.

She points to the Government’s recent move to change the rules around how individuals can request pay equity by passing the Equal Pay Amendment bill.

"More than 150,000 women have been denied the pay rise they deserve from this disappointing decision to gut our pay equity laws with no prior notice before the election or even a Select Committee process so that New Zealand women could have their say,” Fitzsimons says.

“[Thursday's] Budget will make the scale of the cost to women clear.”

Listen to Fleur Fitzsimons' full interview about pay equity below.

She says that demands by the Government for Oranga Tamariki to look at savings resulted in cuts to funding for hundreds of community service provider contracts with little notice.

"We have a meth crisis in this country - the Government slashed resources for border protection, which has only made that problem far worse.

"New Zealanders can’t afford any further cuts to public services. Too much damage has already been done."