National leader Simon Bridges speaks during the 2019 Budget presentation at Parliament on May 30, 2019 in Wellington. Photo / Getty Images
National leader Simon Bridges speaks during the 2019 Budget presentation at Parliament on May 30, 2019 in Wellington. Photo / Getty Images
FROM PARLIAMENT
I am writing this on Budget day which has been especially dramatic with the early release of Budget information during the week. The only early release information relating to my spokesperson roles was for disability and the early release did turn out to be close to the Budget.
On Budgetday we are all in the house at 2pm when the Budget is released. Behind the scenes there is a flurry of activity as clerks go online and print out the relative Budget items and then bring them down to the House for us to work on while events are proceeding.
I have two spokesperson roles that have consumed my resources on Budget day and here is the summary of the Budget implications in those portfolios in the first eight hours:
• Three ICT graduate schools cancelled (Auckland/Wellington/Dunedin) • Innovative universities programme to immigrate professors cancelled • Amalgamation into one polytechnic may cost more than $200 million
Disability
• $7 million less overall funding nationwide for disability
Greens leader James Shaw, Finance Minister Grant Robertson, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Deputy PM Winston Peters walk to the house ahead of Budget 2019 proceedings. Photo / Getty Images
Over the next 48 hours I will work on the implications of the Budget, especially for the disability sector which has higher costs than last year.
The NZ Disability Support Network had their annual conference in Wellington last week and I attended the opening on Wednesday but I imagine with this Budget news the mood is more sombre. The disability sector was hoping for a $250m increase in funding and in fact they have got $7m less.
There are other parts of the Budget that may impact Northlanders, not the least of which is the funding for rail, the Northland-Auckland line and the Marsden link.
I have seen the recent consultant reports on Northland rail commissioned by the Government and they show the unsuitability and lack of government interest in passenger rail to Northland.
At last count 80 per cent of the Marsden link land still needed to be purchased and so this is a very expensive and time-consuming proposition.
Finance Minister Grant Robertson speaks during a pre-Budget lunch at Parliament on May 14, 2019 in Wellington. Photo / Getty Images
The arguments on rail are well trodden and stretch across multiple governments for the past 30 years. No government of any colour has been prepared to build the rail unless it would be used and there has never been a business case to that effect.
Some people have said "build it and they will come". This didn't work out so well for Marsden B which cost millions to build and never generated a single MW of electricity.
There are many other international examples of the folly of this approach but at the end of the day our position has been clear, if there is a positive business case then we will look at supporting it.
The other big Budget item is mental health which receives a substantial boost and should benefit Northlanders.
I have also just spotted a Budget line item showing $4m funding for the fantastic Northland methamphetamine programme, Te Ara Oranga. This is good news and encouraging for a Budget that may have some good things in it for Northland.
• Dr Shane Reti is the Member of Parliament for Whangārei.
