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Source: Better Taxes for a Better Future

As your average New Zealander struggles to pay the bills, the Government’s 2025 Budget piles austerity on the least well-off, and misreads the public mood. Recent polling commissioned by the Better Taxes for a Better Future campaign showed the vast majority of New Zealanders supported increased spending on public services, and only 3% were in favour of cuts.

By limiting its operating allowance to $1.3b to reduce debt, following the introduction of  unaffordable tax cuts last year and the failure to advance other meaningful revenue gathering options, the Government has manufactured the need for cuts in spending on public services that New Zealanders rely upon on a daily basis.

“The most significant contributor to the Government’s $5.3bn in savings required to reach its arbitrary operating allowance are the lowest paid working women through the scrapping of the pay equity settlements,” says Glenn Barclay, Better Taxes campaign spokesperson.

“Many other good programmes have also been sacrificed to allow the Government to get away with such a miserly operating allowance.”

“The total cost to mainly low paid working people from scrapping pay equity of $12.8bn over 4 years represents one of the largest wealth transfers in modern history, and will have a real cost for the lives of some of the least well off in New Zealand.”

Other items in the Budget are worth commenting on.

“While a modest increase in the abatement threshold for Working for Families is to be welcomed, it will be paid for by increasing the abatement rate and means testing the first year of Best Start payments. Here we see the Government giving to young families with one hand, while taking away with the other.”

“The flagship Investment Boost allowing for accelerated depreciation on new assets to be deducted from taxable income, while a useful tool to grow GDP, implemented in this untargeted way stands to benefit monopolistic companies like supermarket chains, electricity generators and banks at the expense of the collective revenue pool,” says Glenn Barclay.   “With the substantial cost of $1.7 billion per year, it would have been much better to use this tool to focus on areas such as advanced manufacturing or green technology.”

“Similarly the halving of Government contributions to KiwiSaver is shortsighted, when we ought to be  supporting lower income earners and young people  to grow their retirement savings.  On the other hand the Government has significantly expanded the ability for SuperGold card holders to claim rates rebates. It looks like a case of valuing the priorities of older property owners over the  future retirement savings of today’s workers.”

“The Budget reflects choices about what the Government values and how it’s going to pay for those things.  This budget shows the government does not value the work of the least well-off in New Zealand, who are paying for its austerity,” says Glenn Barclay.

“It is inescapable that we need to generate more revenue to pay for the public goods New Zealanders value, like public healthcare, education, transport and housing. It is wrong to pretend that we can deliver the kind of society New Zealanders want now and in the future by constantly reducing the collective pool,” says Glenn Barclay.

“Successive governments have failed to ensure we’re collecting enough revenue to meet our needs and ensure those who can afford to contribute more, make that contribution. Polling indicates New Zealanders want increased investment in public services and think that the wealthy should be contributing more,” says Glenn Barclay.

“Today’s Budget fails to grapple with that challenge  to respond to what the New Zealand public wants.  With this Budget the government continues to ask more of those who have the least.”

“We call on the Government to consider common sense taxes that many other countries already have, like a capital gains tax and a wealth tax, so we have enough revenue to allocate to the public goods that enable all New Zealanders to thrive.”

The Better Taxes for a Better Future Campaign is a coalition of over 20 organisations led by Tax Justice Aotearoa.

We believe that tax reform is the only solution to the current challenges facing Aotearoa NZ.  We need the tax system to:

be transparent
raise more revenue to enable us address the challenges we face
make sure people who have more to contribute make that contribution: that we gather more revenue from wealth, gains from wealth, all forms of income, and corporates
make greater use of fair taxes to promote good health and environmental health
address the tax impact on the least well off in our society.

Source: Green Party

Budget 2025 represents a significant step backwards for Aotearoa, with the Government adding fuel to the fire when it comes to the climate and inequality crises, says the Green Party. 

“This Budget is bad news for people and planet,” says Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson.

“Christopher Luxon clearly has no ambition for this country and not a care in the world when it comes to the climate crisis. This Budget will see more and more people living on the street, it will mean thousands more families struggling to put food on the table and it will result in more children growing up in poverty.

“With cuts to Kiwi Saver, housing for the ‘right people,’ instead of all people and taking away money from whānau with babies, this Government has well and truly put its cards of cruelty on the table. We do not have to accept this and we can fight for a future where everyone has what they need on a planet with thriving nature and a stable climate.

“A Green Government will do things differently. Instead of opening gas fields in the middle of the climate crisis, pushing people into poverty and punishing them for it, we will rapidly reduce emissions, reduce the cost of living and improve our quality of life,” says Marama Davidson.

Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick says, “This is even worse than a BS budget. Not only is the Government shredding public services and giving up on reducing child poverty, they’re pouring oil and gas all over the climate crisis fire.

“Resilient energy supply means investing in distributed renewable energy, not burning public money to subsidise new gas fields and fossil fuel executive profits.

“Somehow even more bewildering, these very moves could compromise our Free Trade Agreements with the UK and EU. So much for ‘responsible economic managers.’

“Last week, the Greens released our budget to show how we can reduce the cost of living, increase the quality of life and rapidly reduce climate changing emissions.

“Today, the Government said ‘yeah,nah,’ to a liveable future for all of us,” says Chlöe Swarbrick.

Source: Green Party

The Government’s Budget offers little more than crumbs for our tamariki, while real issues in the ECE system are ignored.

The Government’s Budget offers little more than crumbs for our tamariki, while real issues in the ECE system are ignored.

“We would make ECE free, this Government has failed whānau by making it even more unaffordable. Our tamariki deserve better,” says Green Party spokesperson for Māori Education and Early Childhood Education Benjamin Doyle (they/them).

“Every child in Aotearoa deserves an education that sets them up for success. That demands an ECE system that places tamariki at the heart.

“Today’s minuscule offering in the Budget – an inflation adjustment of 0.5 per cent – isn’t enough to cover inflation. Effectively, ECE is getting a 1.6 per cent cut. 

“While puna and kōhanga reo appear to receive marginal funding increases at first glance, a failure to match inflation or consider compounding under-funding year on year means there are real world cuts for both providers.

“Instead of investing into our children’s critical early years, the Government continues to prop up a profit-driven system that relies on overcharging parents, underpaying kaiako and, as a result, short-changing our tamariki.

“There’s no relief for whānau today. No overhaul for teachers who have been loudly calling for just that. No bold vision or imagination from our Government.

“Our Green Budget clearly showed how we can cover the full cost of delivering quality ECE, ending subsidies to corporations and instead supporting community-based and public centres that prioritise the needs of our kids, not the interests of shareholders.

“Poipoia te kākano kia puāwai. We must nurture our tamariki from day one, so they can flourish and thrive,” says Benjamin Doyle

Source: Green Party

The Government has failed Māori and ignored its Te Tiriti obligations with its Budget, says Te Mātāwaka, the Green Party’s Māori and Pasifika Caucus. 

“This Budget has no ambition for Māori and ignores te Tiriti o Waitangi. We deserve better and can do much better,” says Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson.

“Te Tiriti o Waitangi is a promise of protection, for our whānau and our whenua. A promise this Government has broken before and has broken again today with this Budget.

“This Budget builds on the Government’s legacy of the Treaty Principles Bill, the disestablishment of Te Aka Whai Ora and the repeal of 7AA.

“Budget 2025 strips the Māori Development fund by nearly $10 million, cuts funding to Whakaata Māori even deeper and leaves Whānua Ora with even less than what it was given in the last Budget which we know was far from enough. The cuts made to Māori housing today are also an absolute disgrace.

“Christopher Luxon has clearly given up on even pretending to care about Māori, failing to show up at Waitangi and now failing to provide anything of substance for our communities with this Budget.

“A Green Government will uphold te Tiriti o Waitangi in everything we do. We are here to honour the promises Aotearoa was founded upon.

“We will fill the gaps in our health system that have failed our people across generations by bringing back Te Aka Whai Ora and rolling out free GPs across Aotearoa, especially in hard-to-reach communities. 

“Our Hoki Whenua Mai policy means land back for tangata whenua and protection against further acquisitions from the Crown.

“We can do all of this and more by making this a one-term Government, by demanding the rich pay their fair share, and by embedding te Tiriti o Waitangi as the poutokomanawa of our whare ora,” says Marama Davidson. 

Source: Green Party

Budget 2025 makes it crystal clear that this Government has no interest in protecting nature or securing a liveable future for our tamariki.

Budget 2025 makes it crystal clear that this Government has no interest in protecting nature or securing a liveable future for our tamariki.

“Our environment is in crisis. This Budget proves the Government simply does not care,” says the Green Party’s spokesperson for Environment, Lan Pham.

“They have no understanding that their so-called ‘laser-focus’ on the economy makes them blind to the indisputable fact that there is no economy without a functional environment.

“Not only is there no new funding in Budget 2025 for environmental protection, but they’ve taken cuts further than we even thought possible. They’ve raided the waste levy and initiatives which were designed to provide at least some basic level of protection for te taiao.

“While our communities are crying out for action, the Minister for the Environment is nowhere to be seen. 

“We needed bold investment and courageous action today. Instead, we got cut after cut after cut. 

“It doesn’t have to be this way. Our Green Budget, with our Green Jobs Guarantee and expanded Jobs for Nature package, would provide credible support for green infrastructure, oceans, native forests, conservation, and climate resilience, allowing nature to flourish and thrive. 

“A better path was possible today. Instead, the Government chose to plunder our whenua and hand it to the highest bidder,” says Lan Pham.

Source: Green Party

Budget 2025 makes clear that the Coalition Government has no long-term plan to help communities most in need of public housing.

“This Budget treats housing like a game of monopoly, where a select few get homes while others are left out in the cold,” says the Green Party’s spokesperson for Housing, Tamatha Paul. 

“By cutting more money from social and transitional housing, the Māori Housing Programme and emergency housing, this Government for landlords has abandoned all hope of solving the housing crisis. 

“The callous decision to completely scrap emergency housing is paired with scaling down the long-term solutions of public housing. It’s clear this Government simply doesn’t care about people forced to sleep on the streets.

“When we hear the Minister talking about housing the ‘right people’ you know the Government is only looking out for a select few. Everybody needs housing – nobody can live a meaningful, fulfilling life without it.

“We need to ensure everyone has a home, but the Government has pulled the pin on large-scale public housing projects by Kāinga Ora that would have made a big dent in the backlog of people waiting for homes. This includes homeless whānau, people living in tents and those in overcrowded homes. Now families are left prey to the market which has more interest in profit than well-being.

“Public housing is as vital as public health and public education. It’s a human right – one this Government is denying.

“Under our Green Budget, we would build 35,000 new public homes in five years to clear the public housing waitlist and ensure everyone can live in a warm, healthy home because we don’t believe anybody should be left on the street.

“The housing crisis in Aotearoa is spiralling out of control amid rising poverty and homelessness. But instead of fixing it, the Government is making excuses. It’s time to empower Kāinga Ora to build big, and build fast,” says Tamatha Paul.

Source: Green Party

Budget 2025 delays our transition to a low emissions and low-cost energy network, this will put even more pressure on households, businesses and the climate. 

“This Budget doesn’t leave enough to keep the lights on, let alone spark the transition towards a low-emissions and low-cost electricity network,” says the Green Party’s Spokesperson for Energy, Scott Willis.

“Stripping $56 million from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority comes on top of last year’s vicious cut. This cut is effectively delivering energy hardship to those who are already struggling.

“Aotearoa can be a country where every home is powered with clean, green affordable energy that lowers our emissions and lowers costs on households. However, this will require action and ambition, something that is completely missing in this Budget. 

“A meagre $2 million for households to counter energy hardship is a joke when we know there’s some 110,000 households doing it tough.

“Since the Government has come into power we have seen the preservation of an energy market that prioritises profit and fossil fuels over our communities and the climate. This Budget further cements that direction and opens the door wide open to more fossil fuelled climate disasters. 

“A Green Government would separate the gentailers that are dominating the energy market and invest $4.8 billion in renewables over four years directly in new renewable energy and storage to benefit both people and planet in the long and short term. We can have cleaner, cheaper, smarter power with the right political will.  

“Through a mix of grants and interest-free loans, our Green Budget would create a Clean Power Payment to help people cover the upfront cost of zero carbon upgrades and energy efficiency.

“It’s not inevitable that thousands of people have to choose between heating and eating. Our energy network needs to work for us, instead of serving shareholders. 

“We can build a more sustainable and affordable energy network that puts people and planet before the profits of our gentailers,” says Scott Willis.

Source: New Zealand Police

Commissioner Richard Chambers, members of the police executive and wing patron former police assistant commissioner, Allan Boreham congratulated 74 graduating constables from Wing 384 today. 

Also attending the graduation and presenting a prize in absence of the Minister of Police was her worship Anita Baker, the Mayor of Porirua.

Families and friends celebrated the newly attested police officers at Te Rauparaha Arena, Porirua this afternoon to acknowledge the successful completion of their initial training course. 

There are some likeminded individuals in the wing with 11 of the graduates having family members currently working in police.

Four graduating officers made the change from non-constabulary roles to police officers.

The wing is very diverse with eighteen recruits speaking more than one language and 19 recruits who were born overseas. The top prize winner was born and raised in France.

Top of wing, Constable Diane Aspalvo is a French-trained and certified clinical psychologist. She has worked as a psychologist in Paris and in Tairawhiti New Zealand before deciding to join the New Zealand Police.

She previously volunteered for the French Army as a reserve after a call-up for national security due to the terrorist attacks in France in 2015. She is a keen swimmer, skier and is also into CrossFit.

“I decided to join the New Zealand Police at 41 years old, so I am a living proof that it is never too late to achieve your dreams.”

Diane will be deployed to Eastern District.

Second Top Award winner Constable Hunta Sutherland, Ngāti Kuia is also a sporting talent, representing her district, Tasman, in football up to high school level.

Not only is she a ‘Golden Boot’ winner for the most goals scored  in a regional competition (39), she’s into running track, cross country, and road races with many podium finishes. Hunta has worked as a teacher’s aide with troubled and autistic youth which she found inspiring.

“While training at college I found strength I never knew I had, and a purpose I’ll never forget.”

Hunta will be based in Tasman District.

Leadership Award winner Constable Charise Perez is also a keen sports person excelling in netball. She was born in Wellington and raised by her Fijian dad and Samoan mother. Charise has experience in hospitality, service and politics. 

She began her employment at the Electoral Commission as an administrator. She was a community liaison and worked on the 2020 elections and has also managed administration for an emergency housing organization called Tuatahi Centre. 

As the leadership award winner, Charise gave a speech to the wing.

“I stand here today as a product of the relationships and bonds between the members of wing 384. Together we began our journey as strangers, but today we stand as brothers and sisters.

As we take the next step in our police journey, I believe that each and every one of wing 384 are more than capable of fulfilling the oath that we have just taken.”

Charise, a former Authorised Officer for Police, will be based back in Wellington District to start policing.

The wing is dispersed as follows:

Deployment:

Northland 3, Tāmaki Makaurau a total of 23 and broken down as follows: Waitematā – 9, Counties Manukau – 14, Waikato – 4, Bay of Plenty – 8, Eastern – 3, Central – 8, Wellington – 9, Tasman – 6, Canterbury – 3, Southern – 7.
The new constables will start their first week of duty in their Police districts from Monday 2 June 2025 and will continue their training on the job as probationary constables.

Awards:

Minister’s Award recognising top student: Constable Diane Aspavlo, posted to Eastern District. 
Commissioner’s Award for Leadership: Constable Charise Perez, posted to Wellington District.
Patron’s Award for second in wing recognising second top student: Constable Hunta Sutherland, posted to Tasman District.
Driver Training and Road Policing Practice Award: Constable Ethan Baldwin posted to Waitematā District.

Demographics:

25.7 percent are female, 74.3 percent are male. New Zealand European make up 56.8 percent of the wing, with Māori 12.2 percent, Pasifika 17.6 percent, Asian 10.8 percent, LAAM 2.7 percent. 

383 Wing Patron: Allan Boreham:

Allan Boreham is a retired Assistant Commissioner of Police and former head of Youth Justice for Oranga Tamariki, Ministry for Children. Allan holds the New Zealand Police in very high esteem and is honoured to be the patron for Wing 384.

He says he is looking forward to supporting the wing members to succeed and gain all the satisfaction a Police career offers. Allan joined Police in 1985 (in Wing 97) and served for more than 33 years. He was also a Deputy Chief Executive in the public service for five years in charge of Youth Justice.

His Police career was varied and involved completing a wide range of roles in public safety, investigations, and road policing. These included postings in Auckland, Tokoroa, Hamilton and Wellington.

He received an award for his leadership in solving the 1997 kidnapping and murder of an Auckland businessman, Graham Kirkwood.

Allan holds a Bachelor Arts, majoring in Sociology, from Massey University. He is currently learning to speak Spanish and is also a keen motorcyclist and skier.

His father Bruce, now in his eighties, also served in the Police for 32 years.

ENDS

Watch out for our Ten One story coming soon with more images and stories.

If you’re interested in joining police check out newcops.govt.nz

Issued by Police Media Centre