Source: Green Party
The Government has failed Māori and ignored its Te Tiriti obligations with its Budget, says Te Mātāwaka, the Green Party’s Māori and Pasifika Caucus.
“This Budget has no ambition for Māori and ignores te Tiriti o Waitangi. We deserve better and can do much better,” says Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson.
“Te Tiriti o Waitangi is a promise of protection, for our whānau and our whenua. A promise this Government has broken before and has broken again today with this Budget.
“This Budget builds on the Government’s legacy of the Treaty Principles Bill, the disestablishment of Te Aka Whai Ora and the repeal of 7AA.
“Budget 2025 strips the Māori Development fund by nearly $10 million, cuts funding to Whakaata Māori even deeper and leaves Whānua Ora with even less than what it was given in the last Budget which we know was far from enough. The cuts made to Māori housing today are also an absolute disgrace.
“Christopher Luxon has clearly given up on even pretending to care about Māori, failing to show up at Waitangi and now failing to provide anything of substance for our communities with this Budget.
“A Green Government will uphold te Tiriti o Waitangi in everything we do. We are here to honour the promises Aotearoa was founded upon.
“We will fill the gaps in our health system that have failed our people across generations by bringing back Te Aka Whai Ora and rolling out free GPs across Aotearoa, especially in hard-to-reach communities.
“Our Hoki Whenua Mai policy means land back for tangata whenua and protection against further acquisitions from the Crown.
“We can do all of this and more by making this a one-term Government, by demanding the rich pay their fair share, and by embedding te Tiriti o Waitangi as the poutokomanawa of our whare ora,” says Marama Davidson.
