Line by line: The coalition's Budget cuts in one list

1:24 am on 1 June 2024

Russell Palmer, Digital Political Journalist

Nicola Willis reveals the cover of Budget 2024

Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone

The government has made a virtue of its tax cuts having been paid for through savings and reprioritisations, with less spent on the tax package than was recovered through cuts to the public sector.

The opposition disputes this and commentators have pointed to the more than $12 billion in new bonds issued to help fund the rest of the government's budget.

While those public sector cuts would have been painful for people relying on those services or the public servants made redundant as a result, Finance Minister Nicola Willis is adamant it is necessary to get New Zealand once again living within its means.

She told the public on Monday she had found 240 individual savings initiatives.

Now the dust has settled from the political firestorm that was Budget 2024, RNZ takes a deep dive and explores exactly what has been cut, by how much.

Read more:

The departments and agencies

By programme

Note: Many of the items on this list are included as part of the departmental and agency baselines. General back-office, efficiency savings and the reduction in contractors and consultants (not related to specific programmes) is not included. Figures are rounded to the nearest $100,000, except where the total is below $1m. Some savings that had already been announced including in the mini-Budget have been excluded.

$877.2m (5Y) from replacing First-Year fees free with Final-Year fees free
$680.5m from scrapping the In-Year Payments loan scheme for the Research and Development Tax Incentive, which was intended to be a temporary mechanism
$462.8m (4Y) from scrapping the Wellington Science City project
$456.8m (4Y) from increased immigration fees and levies, and reduced funding for things like English for Speakers of Other Languages programmes
$435m (4Y) in unused funding for Kāinga Ora's large-scale projects held in contingency for cost overruns
$350.5m (5Y) from the expectation fewer people will need emergency housing over the next four years because of policy and operational changes. "MSD will also introduce clearer eligibility requirements for people seeking emergency housing".
$300m from cancelling Labour's Three Waters/Affordable Water programme
$245m (4Y) from scrapping the First Home Grant (already announced)
$236.8m (5Y) in unused contingency data and IT funding, plus $144.2m (4Y) from the separate Data and Digital Infrastructure and Capability - Enabling Health System Transformation contingency fund, after the health reforms combined the district health boards (DHBs) into one organisation. Separate "investment-ready business cases" will be prepared instead
$52m (4Y) from savings from waste minimisation funding, with additional savings funded by the expanded waste disposal levy, with a further $177.8m in additional savings from the wider application of the levy
$220m in capital returned from a project to upgrade the IT infrastructure for Te Pūkenga
$195m (3Y) from scrapping Workforce Development Councils, with the government intending this work will be taken up through a new arrangement set through legislation in 2024/25.
$180.7m from rail resilience improvements for the Palmerston North to Gisborne and North Auckland lines (Budget 2024 also puts $266.9m over four years towards Auckland and Wellington rail upgrades)
$178.5m (4Y) from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority discontinuing new elements of Warmer Kiwi Homes, including funding for hot water heating, low-cost energy efficiency measures, an LED lighting scheme, and community-focused outreach programme to target hard-to-reach households, scrapping the Low Emissions Transport Fund Freight Decarbonisation Grants programme, and other EECA cuts
$164.5m (5Y) from a contingency fund for developing an agricultural emissions pricing scheme. The government has retained about $3m a year for introducing an on-farm pricing system.
$144m (4Y) from changing the way the Accommodation Supplement, Temporary Additional Support, Special Benefit and Income Related

Rent Subsidy are calculated for boarders, so that boarders' own payments no longer "reduce the homeowner or primary tenant's housing expenses", to bring them into line with other beneficiaries who also have their benefits reduced if they have other income

$149.9m from the Transport Choices and Vehicle Kilometres Travelled Reduction Programme, scaled down to focus only on projects already committed to (about $55m remains)
$131m (3Y) from scrapping Auckland Light Rail including $98m in capital funding
$127.5m (5Y) from unused contingency funding for the Emergency Housing System and Homelessness Action Plan
$120m (4Y) from Oranga Tamariki's "under-utilised services and fee-for-service" contracts with third parties
$116.1m (4Y) from reinstating the $5 prescription fee for ages 14-64, made up of $269m (4Y) in total savings and $153.5m (4Y) due to increased uptake from the policy
$100m in unused funding from the now largely complete decommissioning of the Tui Oil Field
$83.6m (5Y) from unused funds for time-limited initiatives including MSD's Covid-19 response, community programmes, and a scheme to support people unable to access Russian pensions due to the international response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine
$74m from the DHBs Equity Support contingency fund, with this now being handled by Health NZ Te Whatu Ora, through cost-pressure funding provided in the Budget
$72m in capital funding previously tagged to build youth justice facilities and services, until business cases are made. Budget documents state work ended on the programme with little progress made since funding was allocated in 2019.
$61m from underspends in tertiary education and Fees Free subsidies last year
$60m in unused funding from the Affordable Housing Fund, which aimed to support development of new, affordable homes for low-to-medium incomes in high-demand areas. Budget documents state the return of funding will not affect current service levels
$58.9m (5Y) from scrapping a programme to replace minimum wage exemption permits for disabled people with a wage supplement programme
$55.4m in unused funding from the Jobs for Nature programme set to end in 2026
$55.1m (4Y) from cuts to Police's corporate services
$50.4m (5Y) in cut funding and leftover cash from the end of the the Native Afforestation Programme, which will be consolidated into other forestry programmes
$47.4m (4Y) from shifting administration of the Clean Vehicle Standard to a user-pays system from 1 July 2025
$46.9m (3Y) from the Public Transport Workforce Sustainability and Skill Improvement Programme relating to work on penal rates and split shifts
$46m (5Y) in expected underspending from the Emergency Housing Review and Homelessness Action Plan
$45.9m (4Y) from scrapping the Regional Skills Leadership Groups
$41.5m (4Y) from cutting half-price public transport fares for under-25s and free fares for under-13s
$40m in capital funding returned from the Primary Producer Finance Scheme after the North Island weather events
$40m (4Y) in uncontracted money previously assigned to support Māori housing supply, capability and capacity (about $100m a year remains)
$38.27m (4Y) from scaling down the Community Renewable Energy Fund (about $5m a year remains for this), discontinuing work on the Energy Emissions Reporting Scheme, and returning funding for the deployment of small-scale distributed renewable energy and demand response systems
$38m from funding kept aside in case of demand for coal hopper rail wagons as part of the rolling stock procurement programme
$37.7m (5Y) in unused contingency funding for making Crown Solicitor services more sustainable
$37m (4Y) in unused money from the Mātauranga Māori-based Approaches to Agricultural Emissions Reduction, achieved by consolidating funds within the Accelerating Development of Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Mitigations Programme
$36.2m from contingency funding for the Regional Hydrogen Industry Transition
$35.5m in savings (4Y) from the International Growth Fund and NZ Trade and Enterprise (about $216m a year remains for NZTE)
$35.5m (4Y) from cuts to the Climate Change Development Fund, the Climate Resilience for Māori initiative, and Climate Change Chief Executives Board, Carbon Neutral Government programme, Climate Data Infrastructure programme and other related schemes
$35.5m (4Y) from disestablishing the Māori Health Authority
$34.3m (4Y) from contingency funding for improving market governance over the NZ ETS
$33.2m (4Y) from the Crypto-asset Reporting Framework leading to higher tax revenue
$30.5m (4Y) from cutting 'lower-priority' funding to the International Development Cooperation Programme
$27.2m(4Y) from cancelling the expansion of On Farm Support Services
$25.9m from scrapping upgrades to Oranga Tamariki's offices
$15m (3Y) from the end of the existing contracts for Centres of Vocational Excellence, and $10m from the closure of Centres of Asia-Pacific Excellence which were disestablished in the previous Budget (2023)
$24.9m (4Y) in unused contingency funding for the Victims of Crime: Improving Outcomes funding (about $17m remains)
$23.6m (4Y) from freshwater programmes including the Jobs for Nature Secretariat, freshwater investment and implementation of freshwater policy and initiatives under the Essential Freshwater Fund that were yet to be contracted or fully distributed
$23.6m (4Y) from more than halving Crown funding for the Hawaiki Hou programme (about $21m remains) aimed at supporting women, girls, Māori, disabled, tamariki and rangatahi to participate in sport and recreation in the wake of Covid-19
$23m (5Y) returned from the cancelled Earthquake-prone Building Financial Assistance Scheme and Remediation Support Services pilot scheme (closure already announced)
$22.9m (4Y) from scrapping the Te Ringa Hāpai Whenua fund, with this work to now be provided through Te Puni Kōkiri the Māori Development Ministry
$22.8m (4Y) from scaling down the Hapori Māori Data Capability programme, which will now be delivered through baseline Te Puni Kōkiri funding
$22m from Te Kawa Matakura, a mātauranga-a-iwi qualification which the government says had low participation and was consistently underspent
$21.1m (4Y) from cuts to biosecurity monitoring cost recovery being replaced by third-party providers
$20.4m from the Marketing New Zealand as a Tourist Destination fund at Tourism NZ, with some funding to be provided by the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy
$20m shaved off the Business Finance Guarantee and North Island Weather Events Schemes
$20m (4Y) from ending the Living in Aotearoa survey "as a result of a new approach to delivering the statistics required under the Child Poverty Reduction Act". The statistics required will instead be provided by Stats NZ.
$20m (4Y) from uncontracted money for rangatahi youth-focused transitional housing
$20m (4Y) recouped from Emergency Housing motels due to lower demand, in line with previous underspending
$19.3m from the Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary project, which is no longer being progressed
$18.2m (4Y) in unused money from the Sustainable Land Management and Climate Change Programme, by consolidating investment across Ministry for Primary Industries sustainable land management and climate change programmes
$17.5m (4Y) in savings from Archives NZ and the National Library
$17.1m a year from Corrections' asset management spending
$17m (4Y) from expected underspends by the Progressive Home Ownership scheme
$16.3m in Oranga Tamariki capital funding after the programme for developing homes for high-needs children was scrapped, with documents stating the work had not progressed
$16.2m (4Y) from expected underspending by the Playgroups, Whānau at Home, Early Learning Taskforce and Positive Behaviour for Learning education programmes
$16.1m (5Y) from Maritime NZ
$15.8m (4Y) from scaling down the justice sector's High Impact Innovation programme
$15.6m (4Y) from scrapping the Civil Registration aspect of the Te Ara Manaaki programme, which provides more effective digital services for births, deaths, marriages and citizenship application forms. Other aspects of the programme continue
$15.6m (4Y) from cuts to the Climate Change Commission, particularly its agricultural emissions pricing (about $14.9m a year remains for the Commission)
$14.1m (4Y) in cuts and efficiencies in the Digitising Government programme
$12.8m over four years from ending Creatives in Schools, set up to support the arts sector during Covid-19
$12.4m (4Y) from the Tū Manawa and Health Active Learning sport programmes, which Sport NZ intends to continue
$12.3m (4Y) from 6 percent cuts to Small Business Enabling Services
$12m from the Great Rides cycle trails, with this now to be funded through the increases to the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy.
$11.9m (5Y) from cancelling 20 hours free ECE
$11.8m (2Y) through to 2025 from Tourism Recovery Fund Innovation Programme unused funding
$10.8m (3Y) cut from the Accelerating Development of Agriculture Greenhouse Gas Emissions Mitigation Programme (about $105m a year remains)
$10.6m (4Y) from the Early Childhood Targeted Assistance for Participation programme's underspend
$10.3m (4Y) in unused funding from the Just Transition programme. Existing contracts will be honoured and continue.
$10m in unused capital funding from the Accelerator Wood Processing Growth fund
$10m from scrapping the Clean Vehicle Discount
$9.7m (4Y) for savings in Environment Ministry data and evidence savings
$9.6m (4Y) from expected underspends from the Historical Treaty of Waitangi Settlement Claimants support funding
$9.5m (4Y) from "lower value" NZDF programmes including commercial vehicle fleets and local travel reductions
$9m (3Y) from limiting the 3d coastal mapping project to 40 percent of New Zealand's coastline, instead of the previous 85 percent (about $7.4m a year remains)
$8.9m in contingency funding for the Enabling Drone Integration Package
$8.4m (4Y) in leftover money from the Accelerating Health Infrastructure Unit Work Programme, with this work taken over by Health NZ Te Whatu Ora's Infrastructure and Investment Group
$8m (4Y) from spending less on contractors through the Emergency Caller Location Information service. The Budget item states there will be no reduction in service levels
$8m (4Y) from reduced Crown funding towards the public good component of Fire and Emergency services (About $8m a year remains, accounting for just over 1 percent of FENZ's total revenue, which mostly comes from insurance levies)
$8m (4Y) from halving funding for the Contaminated Sites Programme, by making the remediation of sites more gradual
$8m (4Y) in unused money from the Woody Biomass Planting programme, with cheaper planting meaning reduced costs
$7.8m in savings from the Major Events Fund
$7.7m (4Y) from cuts to Employment Relations Services from ending external data provision contracts and reducing education and information services
$7m (4Y) in cuts to the Financial Markets Authority (about $74m a year remains)
$6.5m (4Y) from changing the Public Trust's contract thresholds relating to property managers
$6.2m (4Y) from lower-than-expected cotsts for operation and maintenance of Chatham Island Wharves
$6m (4Y) from Justice Sector Leadership Board and Ināia Tonu Ne: "The relationship and arrangements with the Leadership Board continue to evolve"
$6m (4Y) from unused future funding to Community and Māori Governance Organisations and Commissioning Whānau Ora Outcomes
$5.72m (4Y) from scrapping the Consumer Advocacy Council
$5.7m (4Y) from unused contingency funding aimed at expanding the GSCB's chief information security officer
$5.6m (4Y) from scrapping the Pacific Cooperation Foundation
$5.5m (4Y) from cuts at the Human Rights Commission
$5.4m (4Y) from cancelling upgrades to the SmartStart online platform for new parents, and unused funding from the Smith-Traynor Fraud Response aimed at preventing specific people facing court from leaving the country
$5.4m (4Y) from slowing remediation work on Landbank and Land Information NZ non-residential properties
$5.2m (4Y) through lower-than-expected costs to SOUTHPAN, a satellite-based location service being developed with Australia including for aviation
$5m from the Pacific Business Procurement Support service, with this role being taken over by NZ Government Procurement
$5m (3Y) from the Tertiary Education Commission's Higher Education Collaboration fund
$5m (4Y) shaved off Office of the Māori Trustee funding
$5m (4Y) from curbing Ministry of Education travel and meetings
$4.8m (4Y) from cuts to Location-based Information services
$4.7m (3Y) from 2025 by switching MBIE's in-house Insolvency and Trustee Services to thrid-party revenue instead of Crown funding
$4.7m (4Y) cut from the Ministry of Justice's Cultural Capability programme (about $1m a year remains)
$4.49m from cuts to the Strategy, Performance and Design branch which supports MBIE
$4.4m from scrapping the Prime Minister's Vocational Excellence Award, which aimed to celebrate secondary students enrolled in vocational programmes
$4.4m (4Y) from cuts to the Regional Housing Improvement programme, including through a decrease in fixing tenanted Landbank houses
$4.1m (4Y) cut from the Industrial Relations Foundation, the Equal Employment Opportunities Trust (Diversity Works), and the scrapping of screen industry bargaining support
$4m from scrapping the Ministry of Social Development's Community Innovation Fund
$4m (4Y) slashed from the Wood Processing Growth Fund - Budget documents say this will not have a "significant impact" on the programme (about $2m a year remains for the fund)
$4m (4Y) from scrapping the Te Pae Roa Ministerial Group. This remaining funding will be used to rescope the work aiming to give Māori input into growing the Māori education sector
$3.8m from cutting costs at the External Reporting Board including in board and technical committees, and lower spending on contractors and consultants
$3.8m (5Y) in unused funding from back-office cuts to the Government Property Group
$3.6m (4Y) from cuts to hydrographic surveys (measuring maritime areas)
$3.5m (4Y) from lower demand for court interpreters, specialist services and coronial medical reports
$3.4m (4Y) from the closure of the Government Centre for Dispute Resolution
$3.4m (5Y) in unused funding from the Weathertight Homes Resolution Service, which is closing down
$3.3m (4Y) from cuts to the National Centre of Research Excellence for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism
$3.2m (4Y) from changing the funding of Employment Relations Services related to immigration, to now be funded through immigration system fees and levies. The changes to fees and levies have been agreed in principle by Cabinet but are subject to final decisions in mid-2024
$3.1m (4Y) from changing Legal Aid eligibility "in accordance with the current settings of the Legal Services Act 2011" and a further $18.9m from expected lower demand on Legal Aid after a surge during Covid-19
$2.9m (4Y) through reduced funding for the International Development Cooperation Programme, primarily achieved through reduced reliance on contractors
$2.8m from scrapping the Operation of the Future of Work Forum, plus $300,000 from Te Puni Kōkiri/Ministry of Māori Development funding from scrapping the forum. Social partners will continue to be involved where appropriate
$2.8m (3Y) from "improving governance" of the NZ ETS
$2.8m (4Y) from curbing annual grants through the Aotearoa Reorua (Bilingual Towns and Cities) programme by $700,000 a year (about $400,000 a year remains)
$2.5m (4Y) cut from Ngā Taonga Sound and Vision
$2.5m (4Y) from cuts to Antarctica NZ, primarily through reduced reliance on contractors and consultants
$2.2m (5Y) from the Adult Literacy Educator Grant, not needed - the Budget says - because of the availability of free adult literacy qualifications
$2.1m (4Y) in cuts at the Office of the Privacy Commissioner
$2m from staff cuts at the Social Wellbeing Agency, with the agency's functions moving to the new Social Investment Agency
$2m (4Y) from slowing the delivery and reducing use of contractors by the Crown Land Forestry programme
$2m (4Y) in savings from Laptops for Teachers (about $18m a year remains)
$2m (4Y) in Government Procurement programme cuts, aimed at boosting procurement capability and performance across the public sector (about $4m a year remains for this)
$1.8m (4Y) from interest gained through investing from the Unclaimed Monies Trust account
$1.8m (4Y) due to limited interest from schools in setting up adult and community education programmes
$1.6m (4Y) in contingency funding used to cover public service chief executive remuneration and related costs, due to "more efficient management"
$1.6m (4Y) in savings found at Te Ara Ahunga Ora, the Retirement Commission (about $8m a year remains)
$1.6m (4Y) cut from NZ Film Commission
$1.5m (4Y) cut from the NZ Symphony Orchestra
$1.4m in unused funding from the pilot scheme Senior Diverse Leaders: Capability Building, which has ended
$1.4m (4Y) in cuts to Asia NZ's 'lower-priority' programmes, sponsorships and offshore opportunities for stakeholders
$1.3m (4Y) from savings at the Criminal Cases Review Commission
$1m in Treasury funding not needed for resolving disputes over large infrastructure projects
$1m (4Y) in cuts to economic development research and data analytics services (about $3m a year remains)
$800,000 from the Tupu Tai Internship Programme
$712,000 (4Y) to end the Arts Coordinators and Arts Online service, with most teachers having moved to similar alternatives
$504,000 (4Y) from savings in employment sector analysis
$309,000 leftover from setting up the Te Rito Data Kaitiakitanga Group for ensuring Te Rito data is safe and secure. The group will be funded by Te Rito, which has a roughly $13m a year budget
$300,000 for scrapping the Circular Economy and Biosecurity Strategy
$250,000 in unused money from funding assigned to boost Immigration call centre capacity after the borders reopened
$240,000 (4Y) from the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security
$212,000 in savings from the Social Workers Registration Board - Budget states this won't directly affect functions funded by social worker fees or levies
$180,000 of Budget 2022 funding not used for the Auckland Light Rail project
$124,000 (4Y) from ending the Services Academy National Hui, a yearly event for professional development of 50 to 60 schools and New Zealand Defence Force staff working in Services Academies

Read the full Summary of Initiatives here

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