Hawke's Bay's mayors were mostly left seemingly underwhelmed by yesterday's Budget, with questions raised as to where the region would find the tradespeople needed to build new state houses.
Central Hawke's Bay Mayor Alex Walker said Finance Minister Grant Robertson's maiden Budget contained "no real surprises".
"I think the Government had made their priorities pretty clear. It's certainly positive to see spending in health and education.
"Probably, the most relevant is around housing and build budgets for state housing, which are really positive, but we have to have the people to build these houses and get it going.
"So, while it's a great announcement, there is a bit of hard work to be done to deliver."
Wairoa Mayor Craig Little welcomed the Government's overall focus.
"I think there's some really good bits there. I think previous governments have forgotten where we are and I think this Government is picking up on that and getting back to the old days of looking after people."
Napier Mayor Bill Dalton said although he had not studied the Budget in depth he had not seen anything of particular benefit to the city.
"Certainly it's a typical Budget, where the current Government blames everything on the previous Government. There's a whole lot of playing politics around, in my view."
Hastings Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst said she would support any Government Budget that saw more housing built in the community.
"There is a desperate need for more housing in Hastings, and it's great to see the Budget offering more money to go into building new state houses and emergency housing.
"Boosting funding for education and health, in particular making things such as GPs' visits cheaper, will hopefully mean our people will have greater access to training and health care, which in turn increases the economic and social wellbeing of our community.
"Extra spending for more police officers will also help make our streets and roads safer.
"We also welcome efforts to strengthen predator and biodiversity control which will be valuable to our producers and will enhance and restore our environment.
"The Budget also confirms the Government's commitment to the Provincial Growth Fund and we look forward to seeing this funding benefiting Hawke's Bay."
She also backed any efforts to tackle homelessness and the issue of family violence.
Tararua Mayor Tracey Collis was unable to be contacted.