Budget 2022: What’s in it for Pasifika?
by Mariner Fagaiava-Muller
Amidst the backdrop of Covid, war and a cost of living crisis - the Government today unveiled its $128.4 billion budget.
The Pacific Peoples’ package gets a $196 million piece of the pie, an increase of $88m from last year.
So, what tupe is going where? We’ve poured over the detail, so you don’t have to:
- $49.9m for Pacific providers adapting to landmark health system reform
- $49m to build up to 300 homes over 10 years for Pacific in Eastern Porirua
- $20m to a diabetes prevention and treatment programme for Pasifika in South Auckland
- $18.3m for the Toloa STEAM (Science, Technology, Education, Arts & Mathematics) programme
- $15.5m to support "shovel-ready" Pacific businesses & social enterprises
- $13.7m to deliver a Dawn Raids historical account
- $13m supporting growth of Pacific bilingual and immersion schooling workforce
- $8m for the personalised Pasifika employment and training programme, Tupu Aotearoa
- Up to $5m of reprioritised funding to equip teachers of Pacific learners in cultural competency training
- $2m towards Pacific education scholarships
- $1.6m for the Pasifika migrant support service, Pacific Work Connect
An additional $4.4m has been allocated to Radio New Zealand Pacific, for a new shortwave transmitter which can continue a news broadcast to the Pacific region.
Pacific Peoples Minister Aupito William Sio is confident this year’s Budget leaves no Pacific person behind.
“The significant investments from Budget 2022 will help us to forge ahead creating jobs and income streams for families,” he says.
"The Pacific package further highlights this Government’s commitment to supporting Pacific peoples’ vision and wellbeing approach by using the Lalanga Fou goals to continue growing thriving, confident and resilient Pacific peoples in Aotearoa New Zealand."
Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner Saunoamali’i Karanina Sumeo is also disappointed with the Budget’s plans to tackle pay inequity.
“I remain deeply concerned about how this budget did not specifically address measures to reduce the ethnic and disability pay gaps affecting Māori, Pacific, ethnic communities and our disabled whānau,” she says.
“Applying an equity lens to policy and decision-making would acknowledge that marginalised groups face different socio-economic barriers and so each new budget has the potential to highlight how different groups’ wellbeing can be uplifted.”
While Saunoamali’i welcomes investments for Pacific housing and business, she says those are only short-term initiatives.
Aoga Fa’asamoa preschool manager Janice Taouma is grateful for the injection into bilingual and immersion learning, but wants to highlight how deep the inequality in the sector is for Pasifika ECE teachers:
“Our qualified Pasifika staff at Early Childhood Centers like the Aoga aren’t paid the same rates as mainstream Kindergarten teachers, so while we are grateful for some extra dollars a week there’s still a bigger problem to be addressed” she says.
Noted reaction from Pasifika across social media tonight included criticism of $350 payment available to those who earn under $70,000 – which excludes beneficiaries and superannuants.
Meanwhile, others were happy to get some extra much needed dollars in their pockets across the totality of the Budget announcement.
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Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air