On May 30th National’s Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered her first Budget. It was, in many ways, a budget of no surprises with many of the elements signalled well in advance.
The biggest news of course was the tax relief - changes to the income tax brackets, and some other changes that will see most people get some money back in their pockets.
There's always lots to unpack in a budget and we're sure you have probably done a lot of reading over the past few days but we thought we'd highlight just a few of the areas that might affect organisations in the for-purpose and impact sector
- In education money is provided for more teachers and early childhood education but the sector has been somewhat overshadowed by the discussions around Ka Ora, Ka Ako, the healthy school lunches programme. It will continue - for now - but changes are in the offing. Health Coalition Aotearoa has been campaigning to keep the programme intact and said it was frustrated that the Budget was focusing on areas like reducing hospital wait times rather than on initiatives which could improve health and reduce the need for hospital visits in the first place.
- The Fees Free first year scheme for tertiary students is also being scrapped, being replaced?with funding for the final year.
- The Health Budget included $9.7million to establish a National Mental Health and Addiction Community Sector Innovation Fund and a $24million boost for mental health counselling services through Gumboot Friday.?
- Primary and hospital care was also given a boost but there was disappointment for many with no mention of funding for 13 cancer drugs that National had signalled during its election campaign, a move that the Cancer Society described as deeply disappointing. Free prescriptions have also been scrapped for most people.
- Funding for the environment and climate change was mixed but Minister Simon Watts said it supported practical action. Some schemes like developing a public network of electric vehicle charging infrastructure and the Warmer Kiwi Homes programme surviving, and there has been a funding injection for flood protection. But funding in other areas is being cut, which both Greenpeace and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) New Zealand have criticised.
The thing that could have the most impact in the coming years, was, in fact, announced just before the main Budget. That is the creation of a new standalone Social Investment Agency formed out of the existing Social Wellbeing Agency. The new agency which comes into being at the beginning of July will lead the Government’s social investment programme, and will be responsible for:
- Setting the standards for social investment practice to ensure there is consistency across government agencies and contracted providers
- Advising on and facilitating the creation of the necessary data and evidence infrastructure for social investment
- Working with other agencies to apply the social investment approach
- Leading an ongoing review of social sector spending to measure outcomes
The agency will also be responsible for managing a new Social Investment Fund which will commission outcomes for vulnerable Kiwis. This fund will begin investing in 2025.
The concept of social investment includes using data and evidence to understand needs, setting clear and measurable goals and regularly measuring the effectiveness of services. It also focuses on enabling local providers such as community and iwi groups and NGOs to deliver services tailored to their local communities.
This could be beneficial for on-the-ground groups - writing in the NZ Herald KiwiHarvest CEO Angela Calver said it offered “much-needed hope” that the efforts of local organisations “will receive sustainable backing” - but time will tell what impact it may have.
