Former NZ First MP and regional economic development minister Shane Jones says this year's Budget doesn't go far enough to address the rise of inflation.
"E mātatoa ana te piki o ngā utu. Āpopō, ā tātou moni kua whakangoikorengia," he told teaomaori.news. (The rising costs are out of control. Our money will be worth less tomorrow than it is today.)
Te Pāti Māori co-leader, and Waiariki MP, Rawiri Waititi agrees with Jones, saying times are tough for many whānau and are getting tough.
He says the government's budget has gone backwards compared to previous years.
"Ka roa tātou e whanga nei kia whai huruhuru tātou i roto i ngā mahi a te kāwanatanga. I te wā i a Shane, he huruhuru ka whai i a tātou i te PGF. Engari i roto i ngā mahi o tēnei kāwanatanga, kāore e kite." (We have long been waiting for funding from the government. In Shane's time, we had the provincial growth funding that helped our whānau. In this government's budget, support isn't there.)
Jones criticised the government's move to give $350 to people earning less than $70,000.
"Kei pōhēhē mā roto i te $350 kātahi ka whakamāmāngia ngā utu kei runga i o tātou whānau. He kongakonga noa iho." (Don't be mistaken in thinking that by receiving $350 families can survive. It's not enough.)
Māori Health Authority 'won't fly without feathers'
Waititi, who has been unapologetic in his party's quest for equity, and 'co-governance' says he is disappointed by the funding set aside for the new Māori Health Authority.
"Kua kite mātou i roto i te Mana Hauora Māori hōu nei, ko te .7 paiheneti noa iho o te Vote Health kei te haere ki te kaupapa rā. Ka tarea hoki tātou ki te whakaitia i ngā tau mate moata nei, mātou i a tauiwi, i te whitu tau? Kao! (We've seen today the new MHA will get .7% of the health budget. Will we see a change in the difference of life expectancy between us and non-Māori? No!)
"Ka tarea e tātou kia ngāwari ake te mate huka, te mate manawa. Wērā tūāhuatanga i roto i te manatū hauora hōu nei? E kao!" (Can we say that diabetes issues will get better? WIll we have lower heart disease rates? All those issues that the new authority will deal with? I don't think so!"
Jones says the fight for the authority was too big to not receive more.
"Tatangia te nui o te pūtea ko te whakawhiwhia ki te Manatū Hauora, tirohia ki te iti kua oti te whakawhiwhi atu ki tēnā rūnanga. He iti atu i te kōtahi paiheneti nei. He aha te patanga o tētahi rōpū pēnā mehemea karekau ōna huruhuru?" (Look at how much funding the Ministry of Health got today, then compare that to what the MHA receive. Less than one per cent! What benefit will that authority achieve if it won't be supported?)