$579m Māori health and wellbeing funding revealed

^{Associate Health Minister (Māori) Peeni Henare Photo/ NZME}

The government will invest almost $600 million in Māori Health and wellbeing over the next four years, predominantly for the new Māori Health Authority and Whānau Ora commissioning agency.

The pūtea announced in today’s 2022 budget by Finance Minister Grant Robertson and Associate Health Minister (Māori) Peeni Henare will see $188.1 million for the new Māori health authority, over the four years.

“This is for direct commissioning of services and more support for iwi-Māori partnership boards to ensure the voice of iwi and whānau is strongly represented across our new Māori healthcare system,” Associate Minister of Health (Māori) Peeni Henare says.

“We are also investing $39 million to provide the Māori health workforce with additional access to training and development to support them within the new health system,” he said.

Finance Minister Grant Robertson defended criticism that the pūtea may not be enough to address decades-long inequities within healthcare by saying the money is the beginning of successive, regular investments into the system.

“I’m extremely proud of this budget,” Henare says. “This is about delivering sustained investment over a long period of time.”

“The other thing I needed to assure the [finance] minister is  our Māori health organisations have the capacity to deliver these services as we fund them.”

Budget 2022 also includes $166 million in additional funding for the Whānau Ora commissioning agency.

Among the Budget’s other big-ticket items is $155 million of investments into the Māori trades training and supporting businesses to employ more Māori.

^{Associate Minister (Health) Peeni Henare revealed nearly $600 million for Māori health and wellbeing over the next four 4 years. Photo/ Will Trafford}

Some $200 million of additional funding will be provided to support Māori education, with $47 million going to funding full immersion Māori language programmes as part of the government plan to have one million fluent the reo Māori New Zealanders by 2040.

And $41 million for Māori broadcasting will also be provided over the next two years and additional funding for Te Matatini will be unveiled in coming weeks.

As part of the government’s $4.5 Billion Climate Emergency Response Fund (CERF), $162 million will be set aside for transitioning whenua Māori entities to lower emission land use, and developing a Māori Climate Action Plan.