For all the talk of "social investment", more money has been allocated to subsidies for film-makers than to vulnerable children. In a callous move the funding to fight rheumatic fever has been halved from $10m per year, to $5m per year.
Rheumatic fever is often caused by living in cold, damp homes and disproportionately affects young Māori and Pasifika. This funding cut seems short-sighted when the Health Ministry estimates that hospitalisations alone cost New Zealand more than $11m a year, while the full economic impact of the disease could be upwards of $40m a year.
The measly figure allocated to the troubled Te Ture Whenua Māori reforms in Budget 2017 are a sign the reforms are a low priority for the Government and will leave many Māori land owners in limbo.
Te Ururoa Flavell has been trumpeting big financial benefits for the Māori Land Service in the Budget, but this isn't new money. This year Te Ture Whenua Māori reforms received the paltry sum of less than $2m in new money. That funding is to "educate land owners", or in other words, persuade resistant land owners that these highly unpopular reforms are in their best interests.
Māori housing only gets $17m, which buys 26 houses at the Government's "affordable" figure of $650,000 per house! The Māori Housing Network has built only a handful of houses and repaired 379 homes. There are about 237,000 Māori home owners, so this support is just a drop in the ocean.
The Vote: Māori Development allocation is largely a hodgepodge reorganisation of funds and repackaged programmes, with an increasing number of low-funded programmes.
Things like $5m toward new vans for Kōhanga Reo; $1m toward Māori health for a mobile clinic; $10m maintenance funds over four years to be spread around the country's 750 marae. Extra resource is good, but I doubt an increase in small-scale programmes can get meaningful results for Māori.
Under this National Government propped up by the Māori Party it appears there is no coherent plan for Māori.
Te Puni Kōkiri should be monitoring and influencing other agencies to ensure better outcomes for Māori, and ensuring fair access to government programmes and services.
For example, the KiwiSaver HomeStart grant programme administered by Housing New Zealand is worth approximately $85m per year.
Wouldn't Maori be better served by a ministry that ensures Māori access a fair share of that fund, rather than a ministry that's promoting a range of eclectic low-funded programmes?
After nine years of National and the Māori Party, Māori remain over-represented in bad statistics for health, home ownership and education standards. This year alone my offices around Ikaroa-Rāwhiti have dealt with 50 homeless whānau - either sleeping in garages, cars or motels - and many more needing housing assistance.
Only large-scale transformative policy will see things change in a meaningful way. That's why I'm proud of what Labour is offering this year.
KiwiBuild, which will build 100,000 homes over 10 years, re-focus Housing New Zealand on helping people, and require all rental homes to be warm, dry, and healthy.
Dedicated careers advice throughout a student's time at school. Three years' free post-school education.
Dole for apprenticeships.
These are just some of Labour's policies that will make meaningful differences in the lives of Māori. A Māori Development Minister from a minor party simply doesn't command the influence needed to get Māori a decent slice of the pie. Te Ururoa Flavell is okay with Māori just getting the crumbs.
A Labour government with Māori MPs making up at least one-quarter of its entire caucus will ensure Māori get our fair share.
Meka Whaitiri is the Labour MP for Ikaroa-Rawhiti.
