Transcript
South Auckland resident, Manase Lua, says he can't hide his disappointment at the lack of Pacific-specific funding in the coalition government's first budget. He says it's interesting that there seems to be emergency funding for the mycoplasma bovis cattle outbreak but not for Pacific people - many of whom are at the bottom rung of society's stats.
"They came to the centre of the Pasifika community with no money. I mean I asked a specific question about where is the Pacific-specific tagged funding? And the minister sort of skirted the question without a yes or a no but talked about wider funding for mainstream, which is great. And I understand we will benefit from that. But tagged Pacific funding is also important and you need to have both - not just do the blanket approach as we have had that in the past."
The Minister of Social Development, Carmel Sepuloni, tried to address his concerns mentioning the new best start payment for babies and at least 40,000 Pacific people are also likely to benefit from the winter heating payment for over 65s as well. She says from July 1, the new family package will benefit 384,000 middle to low income families, and Pacific people are among them.
"I guess the question that we have to ask ourselves, indeed even as politicians is does the policy have to have Pacific in it to be able to adequately meet the needs of or address the needs of Pacific communities? Sometimes yes. Sometimes I don't think so."
A health worker at Counties Manukau, who did not want to be named, says more work is still needed such as healthier buildings at Middlemore needing overdue remedial work, but is glad health and focus on family gets a boost.
"If you establish a really good foundation by pouring a bit of funds to family packages, especially for newborn, looking at health and education, those are the really good foundations and there's quite a bit of money going into that which is a really good start moving forward because we start the foundation of the family and newborn children, and I think it will help shape the future towards a more kind of bright and healthier future for also Pacific people and people of lower socio-economic status."
Jenny Salesa, whose ministerial portfolios include education, health, housing and urban development, as well as ethnic communities and building, says Middlemore Hospital has featured a lot in the media lately. She says an extra $US599 million ($NZ 850 million) is earmarked in this budget for capital costs, including buildings like the ones at Middlemore Hospital. Tertiary Student Anton Vavia was disappointed by what he heard, adding that Pacific people will still be disadvantaged.
"How can we bring out the Pacific community so that we become equal? We can't treat the Pacific equally because we aren't there yet. How can we develop such methods and what is planned to bring the Pacific community up to an equal status?"
But building a strong foundation to improve people's wellbeing is what New Zealand's Finance Minister Grant Robertson insists is at the crux of his budget, divvying funds to prioritise areas of health, education, housing and social welfare. He said that this budget is a foundational one to start reducing growing inequalities in society and to try and ensure that many people, such as Pacific, get a better chance to prosper, like the US$2.26 billion (NZ$3.2 billion) extra injection into health.
"As a nation, we are people who believe that everyone does deserve a fair chance and a fair go at achieving our potential. And that's what we did in this budget is the same and saying how can we build those strong foundations to give everybody that opportunity."
The Minister of Pacific Peoples, Aupito William Sio, says the Pacific contribution to the New Zealand economy won't be ignored and is encouraging Pacific communities to have more faith and support in their efforts.
"I think we have got to add language and culture and our desire to maintain our spirituality. Those are important. And then we have to carve out from each of those areas, the pillars that we need to grow and formulate so that they are strong. The ultimate aim for all of us is that we ensure that we have a vibrant prosperous and successful Pacific people, people resilient in the new Aotearoa New Zealand because this is our home."
The Ministry of Pacific Peoples plans to host a forum in November to work out a framework on how Pacific people can better thrive in society.
