Targeted funding missing from Budget, ethnic leaders say

The Budget unveiled by Finance Minister Nicola Willis on Thursday dashed ethnic leaders' hopes of receiving more targeted funding for their communities.

The Ethnic Communities Development Fund, one of the chief funds for the cohort that is managed by the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, hasn't increased from $4.2 million annually since 2019.

Vishal Rishi, chief executive of The Asian Network Incorporated, said the ethnic population had grown in recent years and more organisations would be vying for the limited pool of funding to aid their work.

"[The fund does] nothing to address the needs of our communities at all," Rishi said.

"So, I don't know what's going to happen with lots of ... community programs or other smaller community groups, which are [essentially] cultural groups," he said. "How they going to survive, including us?"

The health budget now tops $31 billion, with funding increases for hospital and primary care, after-hours services, cancer treatment and mental distress calls.

Rishi, whose organisation provides health and social services, said he had hoped to see targeted funding to aid family harm prevention efforts, maternal mental healthcare and maternal care for Asian communities.

All three items were left out of Willis' "Growth Budget" on Thursday.

Hospitals and clinics did not deal with all needs, and community services were essential, he said.

"We wanted to see some clear, visible public health sector investment coming through to community groups or to grassroot communities, but I can't see anything coming," Rishi said.

"An ambulance at the bottom of a cliff ... is not going to work."

He said ethnic community providers would need to restructure and reconsider initiatives they had launched recently.

Kelly Feng, chief executive of Asian Family Services, which provides mental health and other social support, said it was great to see the health budget increasing and remained hopeful it could be used to benefit New Zealand's growing Asian population.

"We have to make sure that those general terms of the funding [take into consideration] the complex needs of the vulnerable, diverse population," she said.

"That means that ... interpreters need to be available for people who can't speak English [and] culture support needs to be available when people have ... complex needs for mental health, gambling harm and addiction issues."

If these elements were not considered, it would cost the system more in the long run, Feng said.

"Government officials or whoever is leading this piece of work [should] consider how they're going to address those diverse communities and ... make sure they can achieve for the whole population," she said.

"A one-size-fits-all [approach] ... will be leaving Asian migrants and refugees ... further marginalised and the gap of disparity much larger."

Arish Naresh, president of the Tairawhiti Multicultural Council, said the stagnant funding showed ethnic communities weren't being proportionally prioritised.

"There has to be recognition at some point and there needs to be a sustained growth [in funding]," Naresh said.

"Otherwise, the $4.2 million-odd is a bit stressed and is not supporting communities that should be. It's probably undervaluing the contribution of our ethnic groups."

He said while some measures, such as expanding access to 12-month prescriptions and after-hours urgent care, will benefit migrant and ethnic communities by improving healthcare access and reducing costs, targeted funding remains absent.

"As ethnic populations continue to increase, the question remains: Are they truly counted and supported?"

Fleur Murray, deputy chief executive of corporate services at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, said the ministry was committed to ensuring the country's ethnic communities were recognised, included and empowered to thrive.

"We will continue to carefully balance our strategic priorities and work programmes within our budget to maximise the impact for Ethnic Communities and for all of New Zealand," Murray said.

"While we have made significant strides, there is always more work to be done.

"The ministry collaborates closely with communities, government agencies and stakeholders to ensure that ethnic diversity is acknowledged in public decision-making and practices."