Post Budget online event opportunity to gain insight

Budget 2020 Rebuilding Together sets out a vision for the response and recovery due to the COVID-19 pandemic which has hit New Zealand – and Pacific peoples hard.

A total of $195 million – part of the $50 billion COVID-19 response package announced on May 14 - has been dedicated to Pacific peoples to support their recovery from COVID-19.

This year’s Budget is about walking alongside Pacific people, their families, and their communities, engaging, responding and supporting them as they reset their lives after COVID-19 and beyond.

It is about rebuilding our economy and providing Pacific Aotearoa with the opportunities they need for redeployment, skills development training and business engagement; and it also supports the Pacific community vision, ensuring the continued growth and reach of our arts, languages and cultures.

This vision, guided by the Lalanga Fou Report published at the end of 2018, will help the New Zealand Government, the Ministry for Pacific Peoples (MPP), and Pacific communities to achieve the collective vision of a confident, thriving, prosperous and resilient Pacific Aotearoa.

In the past two years, MPP has brought together Pacific communities and sectors to talanoa with Minister of Finance Hon Grant Robertson and Pacific Ministers in relation to the outcomes of Budget announcements and what it means for New Zealand Pacific.

From June 10-12, MPP is once again bringing Ministers and a panel of community representatives together to share how Budget 2020 will support Pacific peoples in New Zealand to rebuild and help them to thrive.

With COVID-19 still impacting the way we work, the Ministry is conducting this event online live, via MPP, PMN and Tagata Pasifika’s Facebook pages.

During the event Minister for Pacific Peoples Hon Aupito William Sio and Minister Robertson will share the impacts Budget 2020 will have on Pacific communities and the economy.

Minister of Economic Development Hon Phil Twyford, Minister of Social Development Hon Carmel Sepuloni, and Minister of Building and Construction Hon Jenny Salesa will also speak on their respective portfolio areas where money will be injected with the intention for Pacific people to prosper.

Over the three days, a youth panel, community panel and business panel will question the Ministers about the Budget and talanoa about the benefits and possible concerns.

Funding for Pacific focused initiatives announced in Budget 2020 include:

• A Pasifika Culture and Heritage Fund to enable festivals to continue to provide platforms of opportunities to the festival ecosystem ($12.0 million)
• Progressing the establishment of a New Zealand Fale Malae ($10.0 million)
• Toloa – Empowering Pacific participation in STEM ($4.9 million)
• Expansion of Tupu Aotearoa programme across New Zealand ($13.9 million)
• Developing Pacific community content ($1.7 million)
• The Pacific Aotearoa Community COVID-19 Recovery Fund ($3.0 million)
• The Auckland Pacific Skills Shift – an initiative that supports Auckland Pacific peoples in low skilled precarious work, to transition into quality employment ($22.1 million)
• Pacific education initiatives will be announced soon (up to $80.2 million)
• Improving housing for Pacific families and communities (up to $41.3 million)

You are invited to join us over three days (June10-12), to listen and learn from government representatives, to gain insight on how Budget 2020 will help Pacific peoples rebuild and recover, together.

The event gets underway at 8am on June 10. Watch the event live, check out our Events page for more details or visit on MPP, PMN and Tagata Pasifika’s Facebook pages.