2024 New Zealand budget

Prime Minister and National Party leader Christopher Luxon praised Finance Minister Nicola Willis for delivering a "brilliant budget" and stated that the Government was "rebuilding the economy so we can get rid of inflation and reduce the cost of living" and delivering personal income tax relief to working New Zealanders.^[15]

Similarly, Deputy Prime Minister and New Zealand First leader Winston Peters said New Zealand had changed gears from "reverse and backwards to forwards and progress with the Budget." Coalition partner and ACT Party leader David Seymour also praised the 2024 budget, stating that the tax cuts amounted to "taking less of people's money in the first place" and stated that tax deductibility for landlords would lower rents, which would help tenants purchase their own homes.^[15]

The Government was unable to deliver on its 2023 election promise to fund 13 new cancer treatment drugs, which it blamed on a NZ$1.77 billion funding "cliff" in Pharmac's budget left by the previous Labour Government.^[16] On 24 June, Health Minister Shane Reti confirmed that the Government would be investing NZ$604 million over the next four years in boosting Pharmac funding for 54 new medicines including 26 cancer treatments. He reiterated that this funding would allow the Government to fulfill its election promise of funding 13 cancer drugs.^[17]

The Labour Party's leader Chris Hipkins said that the 2024 Budget would "take New Zealanders backward" and that the Budget "is not worth the paper it is printed on." He criticised the Budget for making cuts to healthcare, public transportation, the first home grant, public services and climate change mitigation.^[15][18] While Hipkins criticised the amount of tax cuts people would be getting and emails sent to supports stating it as "just a few dollars", Labours general secretary asked supporters to donate their tax cuts to them.^[19] Labour MP Willie Jackson criticised the cuts to Māori housing providers, rangatahi (youth) transitional housing and other Māori development initiatives.^[18]

Green Party co-leaders Chlöe Swarbrick and Marama Davidson were critical of the budget. Swarbrick said that the Government had chosen to "slash and burn funding for climate action and punch down on people who need support" while Davidson called it a "mean and nasty Budget" that would worsen poverty and ignored the climate crisis.^[15][18] Davidson also described budgetary funding for Te Matatini as a "sugar hit" in a budget that was "unambitious for Māori." She also described the Government's tax cuts as "crumbs" compared to the "slash and burn" cuts to public services.^[18]

The opposition Te Pāti Māori (Māori Party) and others connected to the Toitū Te Tiriti (Honour the Treaty) movement called for a nationwide day of strike to protest the National-led coalition government's policies that were affecting Māori ahead of the 2024 Budget's release. Thousands turned out for protests across New Zealand.^[18] Te Pāti Māori chose not to attend the budget, with co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer stating "Why would anybody be wanting to turn up to celebrate a budget that represents the cuts that they have ruthlessly made against Maori."^[18] Following the budget's release, Ngarewa-Packer described it as a "privileged budget" where Māori did not exist. She and co-leader Rawiri Waititi issued a joint statement calling for the establishment of a Māori parliament.^[15]

Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ), the representative body for local and regional councils, gave a mixed response to the 2024 budget. While the body expressed disappointment with the Central Government's lack of commitment to sharing Goods and Services Tax on new building projects with local governments to cover the cost of growth. LGNZ however welcomed the Budget's housing growth incentives, which LGNZ said it was willing to work with the Government on.^[18]

KiwiRail CEO Peter Reidy welcomed the Government's decision to allocate NZ$159 million to all stages of the Auckland rail network reconstruction, saying that we "fully appreciate the Government's need to manage spending and are thankful for this healthy investment in rail - which will be going where it is most needed".^[18]

The Public Service Association's National Secretary Duane Leo criticised the Budget, stating: "The Government has made a choice that tax cuts for landlords and higher income earners are more of a priority than the quality public services which underpin a thriving economy and support the health and wellbeing of New Zealanders."^[18]

First Union New Zealand's General Secretary Dennis Maga described the Budget as a "brain drain" budget and said that "irresponsible and ideological personal tax cuts would do nothing to mitigate the cost of living crisis and were being paid for by the dismantling of the public service." He also criticised the Government for failing to prioritise the long-term health of emergency services.^[18]

Māori housing advocacy group Te Matapihi's acting chair Rau Hoskins criticised cuts to several housing initiatives including a NZ$1 billion cut for Kāinga Ora, NZ$174.5 million from the Emergency Housing Review and Homelessness Action Plan, NZ$40 million from Māori housing supply and investments, and NZ$20 million from emergency housing. Meanwhile, Te Matapihi chair Ali Hamlin-Paenga called on the Government to give clarity on housing projects that had been paused due to uncertainty over policy and funding.^[20]

The Human Rights Commission tatau urutahi (shared leader) Julia Whaipooti said the 2024 Budget did not reflect the needs of Māori. She criticised the Government's decision to prioritise funding for boosting Police numbers and expanding Waikeria Prison over housing and jobs creation.^[21]

Victoria University of Wellington Professor Joanna Kidman and Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand spokesperson Abdur Razzaq criticised the Government's decision to reduce the He Whenua Taurikura National Centre of Research Excellence into terrorism and violent extremism's budget allocation from NZ$1.325 million a year to NZ$500,000 amounting to NZ$3.3 million over the next four years. Kidman said that the budget cuts would affect the Centre's research and operations while Razzaq described the cuts as "short-sighted."^[22]

1News political editor Maiki Sherman observed that average income households benefitted from the Government's tax cuts, paying NZ$102 a fortnight less in tax. By contrast, minimum wage workers and superannuants benefitted less, with the latter paying NZ$9 a fortnight less in tax.^[18] This is due to the average incomes of minimum wage workers and superannuants being less than average income households and as a result, low-income households are often not in high marginal tax brackets which average households are, therefore resulting in their taxes not being able to be reduced if a low-income household currently does not pay it.

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