Ignite Board Chair Dr Barbara Disley shares her thoughts on this year’s Budget.
Historically, Aotearoa has often been ahead of the rest of the world in areas of social justice. Despite being a small country, we have had health, education, social welfare, and accident compensation systems that have provided universal access and a safety net for all. In the past, government budget announcements were usually awaited by many who were worried about the increasing costs of cigarettes, alcohol and petrol. Aside from that, the announcement was generally of low impact to most.
The Budget I remember that most vividly changed this was the 1991 “Mother of all Budgets”, alluded to by Hon Grant Robertson in his 2021 budget speech. The 1991 Budget introduced by Ruth Richardson cut benefits and set up hospitals as health enterprises. The impact of this resulted in restricting responses and setting up an “elective surgery” system, while running down health infrastructure to balance the books. This same Budget introduced user pays tertiary education and substantially changed our employment relations environment in Aotearoa.
At the time, many people including myself, argued about the long tail of poverty that already existed and the lasting negative impact these cuts and the introduction of user pays, and market rental subsidies would have on the poorest people, including those with mental health, addiction, and disability challenges. Unfortunately, we were not wrong. Māori and Pasifika People were disproportionately impacted by these changes, along with people already marginalised due to mental health and addiction challenges or disabilities.
There have been budgets since then that have given cost of living adjustments to benefits, increased hospital spending, and reduced interest rates on student loans. However, real action to address any of these legacies was minimal so the gaps have continued to grow.
The wellbeing budgets of the current government, starting in 2019 targeting mental health initiatives, child poverty and violence prevention, through to the 2021 ‘Securing Our Recovery’ Budget, are a refreshing and welcome shift. This year’s Budget also has a strong emphasis on rebuilding our health system and tackling the health inequities that exist, particularly for Māori and Pasifika people.
Times are changing. There is a growing awareness of our country’s deeply embedded inequities, and with attempts to address this, we can expect that there will be some backlash as power balances shift. This will be challenging but COVID-19 has shown that as a country we are up for the challenge. Leadership, good information and facts, along with individuals and communities doing their part to protect not only themselves but others, were the hallmarks of our community-driven COVID-19 responses. Let’s hope that we will apply some of these successful strategies, along with open hearts and minds, to shifting the persistent inequities that still plague us.
Dr Barbara Disley ONZM, is also Chief Executive of Emerge Aotearoa Trust and was a member of the Mental Health Inquiry panel.