Budget 2025: Invest in our Children and Whānau - the Foundation of our Future

There are nice little nuggets scattered throughout the Budget, “but let’s be clear they are small scale and are not going to flip the dial to relieve the suffering faced by children and whānau today. This is not the bold investment required to build the foundation for a thriving future.”

Belinda Himiona Chief Executive of Te Pai Ora SSPA says despite soaring demand across the social sector, Budget 2025 fails to address chronic underfunding to support children and whānau.

While it is positive to see investment for Oranga Tamariki social service contracting, learning support, strengthening the safety of the care system and redress for survivors, social investment initiatives and an increase for Māori and Pasifika Wardens.

“The challenge for the government is to match its investment rhetoric by being brave to invest comprehensively in the services that our sector has consistently shown improves lives. Community must have a revitalised role with services devolved to community, iwi and hapū.”

Belinda cautions, “There are clear indications that things are not ok in Aotearoa.”

Lest we forget – recently:

• UNICEF ranked NZ towards the bottom of all of its Child Wellbeing indicators of 36 OECD countries [source: Report Card 19 Fragile Gains - Child Wellbeing at Risk in an Unpredictable World, UNICEF]
• Reports of concerns for children to Oranga Tamariki rose 35% in the last year alone with more than 95,000 reports of concern made [source]
• Concerningly in the last year most child outcomes have worsened across poverty, violence, education achievement, mental health [source: State of the Nation 2025, Salvation Army]

Rather than choosing to respond comprehensively, the decision in this Budget to invest in youth justice and truancy programmes is short-sighted. Investment in early intervention is the most impactful. It is critical to understand that these decisions will disproportionately harm Māori and their whānau.

We can’t keep waiting for early investment, it is needed now in:

• Interventions for children and whānau at risk
• Poverty reduction and whānau support
• Fair pay that recognises the value the social sector workforce brings

“Governments choose where to invest. There are trade-offs. Once you improve the lives of whānau you set the foundation for all our future.”

ENDS