Māori Party keeps its promise to whānau in Budget  2017

The Māori Party is proud to announce a $122 million package of initiatives to support whānau aspirations.  

 “This year’s budget builds on the significant gains the Māori Party has achieved since 2008,” says Te Ururoa Flavell, co-Leader, Māori Party.

“More than $2 billion in gains for our people since 2008 is two billion reasons why we know we need not look to the left or the right to advance our interests.  

“Today gives us 122 million reminders to continue to move forward, to harness our collective strength as Māori and to work to secure our futures as hapori, whānau, hapū and iwi.

“While the dollar amounts differ every year, our relentless focus remains the same – whānau is at the heart of everything we do, and the budget announcements today underscore our belief in kaupapa Māori solutions – by us, for us, and for our future,” Mr Flavell says.  

“The announcement of $10 million to extend Whānau Ora to more families is testament to that belief, and the extra funding takes the total amount of investment to $110 million since 2015, and an operating budget of $73.5m per year.  

“In three short years, we’ve increased the reach of Whānau Ora to 11,500 whānau per year.  Since its inception, close to $250 million has been invested in achieving the aspirations of whānau through Whānau Ora,” Mr Flavell says.  

Māori Party co-leader Marama Fox says the Māori Party has secured budget for a suite of initiatives covering whare, marae, kōhanga reo, whenua, reo and Māori broadcasting – all kaupapa that reflect our inherent faith in ourselves, to know what is best for us.

“This year’s Budget sees $21 million for Māori language and culture, including $5 million to help make it easier for tamariki to access kōhanga reo,” Ms Fox says.

“This means $58.5 million since 2014, has been secured to help whānau connect to their language, culture and identity. 

“We are also committed to initiating home ownership trials for whānau, and to reducing the rates of family violence through facilitators able to support whānau,” Ms Fox says.  

“These two initiatives are opportunities to take innovative approaches to strengthen our whānau.” 

Initiatives for Budget 2017 include:

	Whānau $28 million Whānau Ora – $10 million over 4 years – extending Whānau Ora’s reach so 2,500 more whānau get access to it. Whānau-centred family violence interventions – $9 million over 4 years – supporting facilitators to help whānau end violent behaviour Rangatahi Suicide  Fund (Oranga Rangatahi) – $8 million over 4 years – boosting existing fund to build on suicide prevention work Mobile Health Clinic (Waka Oranga) – $1 million over 1 year – rural communities to bet better access to health services
	Whakapapa $21 million  Kōhanga Reo – $5 million over 3 years – increasing participation in kōhanga reo and learning te reo Te Māngai Paho – $10 million over 4 years – more Māori programmes and content on multiple platforms Te Mātāwai – $3 million over 2 years – more funding to support language planning initiatives for te reo Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori – $3 million over 2 years – ensure public sector agencies promote and protect te reo Māori
	Whenua $33.9 million  Māori Land Service – $30.9 million over 1 year – establish phase one of the service to support and advise Māori landowners Te Ture Whenua enactment – $2 million over 3 years – educating land owners to make the most of the changes through the reforms Te Mana o te Wai – $1 million over 1 year – extra funding for Māori entities to support projects that improve water quality
	Whanaketanga $12 million New Zealand Māori Tourism – $10 million over 4 years – creating new employment opportunities in Māori tourism He Kai Kei Aku Ringa – $2 million over 2 years – fund to help grow Māori enterprises and create more jobs in the regions
	Whare $27 million Marae Ora (Sustaining the marae, sustaining the paepae) – $10 million over 4 years – fund to improve, restore and revitalise the cultural and physical integrity of the marae Māori Housing Network (Kāinga Ora) – $8 million over 4 years – to fund home improvements, whānau housing projects and affordable housing Pathways to Home Ownership (Te Ara Mauwhare) – $9 million over 3 years – trialling new approaches to help whānau into their own homes.

Mr Flavell says: “We must invest in each other, in our whānau and in our communities.  The Māori Party has a long held belief that it is up to all of us to restore our collective responsibilities and obligations towards each other.  

“The budget announcements today provide further opportunities to do just that.” 

End 

Media contact: Greg Taipari 021 943 070