Maori budget announcement 'desperate' says Te Heuheu

The Government's budget announcement of Maori funding is a "smoke and mirrors exercise" which offers little of substance, National MP Georgina Te Heuheu says.

Prime Minister Helen Clark, Maori Affairs Minister Parekura Horomia and Associate Maori Affairs Minister Tariana Turia today announced a package which provides only $2.69 million over four years which has not previously been signalled.

They included in their package funding for health and housing - announcements which had already been made.

Mrs Te Heuheu labelled that move "desperate".

"They're announcing what's already there," she said.

"When this Government starts addressing some of the real issues like violence in homes to Maori women and children, the rising tide of the diabetes epidemic and rising levels of drug and alcohol abuse, then we can start feeling assured about what they are doing."

The new funding announced today is for Maori education and comprises $366,000 for Maori speech language therapist scholarships, $225,000 for scholarships for sign language interpreters fluent in Maori and $2.1 million for kura kaupapa teachers to study for qualifications. All three are over four years.

A further $41.78m already announced in previous years will be used this year and next for Maori social and economic development. That includes $23.7m for developing and maintaining skills available in Maori communities and $14.8m for Maori to meet development priorities locally.

Mrs Te Heuheu questioned the value of the social and economic development funding.

"I don't think we're any clearer now than we were in 2000 what that money was going to be used for and how we were going to measure its effectiveness," she said.

Maori Affairs Minister Parekura Horomia said such initiatives would help Maori development.

"Whanau is at the core of tangata whenua social structures, where the untapped potential for dynamic positive development and change will be found," Mr Horomia said in a statement.

"Therefore we, as a government, have continually focused on initiatives that will assist in strengthening whanau."

Miss Clark said the budget would continue progress already being made in Maori economic and social development.

"The first budget was one which put aside a great deal of money to speed up Maori and Pacific Island development," she said.

"This year's budget builds on that and is a time to reflect on those initiatives."

- NZPA

nzherald.co.nz/budget


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