Today the Government is set to announce its annual Budget. We spoke to five locals about what they would like to see come out of it. What would be best for them, their local community and at a national level.
Steve Holmes
Steve Holmes
, 42, single, no children
Suicide is thefirst thing that comes to mind, mental health. Investment into building relationships and connections, there are a lot of lonely people in this country.
I'd like to see investment into community, youth and youth development programmes. I want safer, positive communities.
Really investing in fixing welfare dependency and our attitude towards employment and contributing. In many cases people from overseas have a better attitude towards work, ours as Kiwis has become terrible.
I want to live in a supportive community that looks after our vulnerable without increasing or enlarging our dependency on the benefit. I want to see creative ways of developing and supporting people. Long term solutions to poverty.
A Budget that is about more than just making money.
The best thing that could come from this Budget for me would be tax relief for families, so I've got more money to put food on the table for my children.
Nationally housing and mental health are big issues. The factor it has on our society is just shocking. It's this perpetual cycle that people fall into, people thinking that the government owe them a living. If we keep taxing people through the roof it isn't cost effective for them to work.
Funding for the health sector is down about $135 million over the last eight years. It's so wrong when we look at the prices of living, I want to earn what I am worth.
Theresa McLean
Theresa McLean
, 18, John Paul College head girl
For me personally I'd like to see tertiary education be a really attainable thing for all people; for everyone that goes to university to not come out with a lifetime of debt.
The biggest issues for me on a wider scale are the environment and community welfare.
That's where I'd like to see the money go, we are nothing without a healthy planet and everything stems from our people being healthy.
I think that especially in Rotorua the community welfare is important. Access to healthcare, mental health services, education and looking after our young people. Making sure the community is happy and healthy.
Ngahi Bidois
Ngahi Bidois
, 55, Ngati Rangiwewehi and Ngati Tahu Ngati Whaoa
I have two children at university, so I'd like to see support for tertiary students. For myself I'd like to see support for medium to small businesses. At an iwi level, support for sustainable marae, helping kaumatua and anything that promotes the development of te reo.
At a national level it's issues with housing, support for the low income bracket and preventing our people from ending up in prisons. They're all linked to the same thing, a reduction in poverty.
I think one of the major issues for my family and for myself is affordable housing.
Alongside that comes issues such as health and social issues. We really should be looking at the overall wellbeing. There are less and less people going into retirement with their own homes. One of the major issues is the accommodation supplement hasn't been addressed since 2007, I hope that will form part of the budget.
I'd like to see them addressing social issues and that springs from affordable housing. National issues are flowing into the regions and they need addressing by the government the same as Auckland does.
I think the key for me will be a government intervention into housing, which government will support the local councils to help with that.
