Pacific Peoples Minister Paul Goldsmith
Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii
The New Zealand government has made further funding cuts for the agency responsible for delivering outcomes for Pacific people, marking its the third budget reduction in as many years.
The move has been criticised by the opposition, who have accused the government of deliberately weakening the Ministry for Pacific Peoples (MPP), but Pacific Peoples Minister Paul Goldsmith said he had “every confidence” that the Ministry will be just fine.
“The Ministry has delivered a two percent baseline saving, along with most agencies across government. The Chief Executive will determine what this will mean operationally,” Goldsmith said in a statement.
“I have every confidence the agency can continue to deliver its functions to a high standard.”
Budget 2026 rolled back the government’s operating allowance, forcing cutbacks in several ministries. It is part of a wider vision for a smaller public service that Finance Minister Nicola Willis laid out a fortnight ago.
When asked at the time whether any decisions had been made about MPP’s future, a spokesperson for the ministry told RNZ Pacific that no decision had been reached.
But this was before the budget – and Willis’ “Public Sector Transformation Programme” is forthcoming.
After the budget on Thursday, MPP said the Ministry’s current work programmes remain unchanged – for now.
“Our commitment to improving outcomes for Pacific peoples in New Zealand remains unwavering. We will keep advocating for Pacific priorities and delivering value within the resources available to us.”
In Budget 2024, MPP lost $25.6 million over four years at the cost of 57 full time roles (and 21 layoffs). The following year, it lost $36.8m after a contestable business fund was shuttered, and employment programme Tupu Aotearoa was trimmed down.
Altogether, the government has shaved around $64.2m from the Ministry in this term of Parliament, losing around half of its staffing capacity in the process.
‘A cynical move’ – Labour
Labour’s Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni has accused the government of deliberately weakening the Ministry for Pacific Peoples over a long period.
“What the government seems to be doing here is running down the Ministry for Pacific Peoples … and the level of advice they can provide across government agencies,” she said.
“Perhaps it’s so they can justify the disestablishment of it in the future, or the merging of government agencies.”
In a statement to RNZ Goldsmith rejected this characterisation, calling it “spray from the opposition”.
“We are still waiting to see any policy ideas from them,” Goldsmith said.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins has said his party would wait until the Budget came out before making any policy announcements, beyond the few that they already have.
But Sepuloni would not commit to restoring MPPs funding if Labour came to power.
“We’ve always put our faith and in the population agencies and recognise the importance of them, we’re going to have some big decisions to make over the coming months.”
In an interview with RNZ Pacific earlier this month, Goldsmith characterised MPPs’ primary function as “a base of expertise.”
Sepuloni believes that any advice coming out of the ministry is being ignored by the government.
“I actually don’t think that this government is listening to any of their population group agencies … we saw that last year when they decided to scrap pay equity without even consulting the Ministry for Women.”
Green Party Pacific spokesperson Teanau Tuiono went further, saying Goldsmith “doesn’t care”.
“I don’t think he understands it at all. I think he’s just following orders from his CEO,” he said.
“I mean, this Parliament term began with the fallout from David Seymour joking about bombing the Ministry for Pacific Peoples … it’s just continued to undermine its role.”
Future of MPP still in question
In August, when the public sector was under the microscope yet again, Public Service Commissioner Sir Brian Roche refused to rule out absorbing MPP into a larger ministry.
It coincided with a research paper from business-backed think tank the New Zealand Initiative that proposed a state-wide shake up, advocating for a “Ministry for Communities” that would combine MPP with the ministries for Ethnic Communities and Women.
“I have said publicly that there are questions around the size and organisation of the public sector, and that there is scope to reduce fragmentation and strengthen individual agencies to focus on their core business,” Roche said at the time.
“Any proposal, if progressed, would retain these functions and their associated branding, thereby ensuring their voice and perspective is maintained in both policy development and service delivery.”
This story was updated on 29 May to include a response from Minister Goldsmith.
