Budget 2022
19 May 2022
Rotorua Mayor, Steve Chadwick, sees foundation investment in fourth wellbeing budget
From a Council perspective I see some foundation investment in this fourth wellbeing budget. I am yet to analyse the detail, but on first reading it appears there is investment allocated for some of the areas this Council has also identified as a priority, which is reassuring.
It’s good to see $61.9 billion set aside for capital and infrastructure investment over the next five years. This spend should help us with stormwater investment to enable more housing, as well as the associated $2.9 billion investment in climate change mitigation. We have to build resilience in our ability to respond to the adverse weather impacts we are experiencing.
I am pleased to see a focus on lifting more children out of poverty. The impacts are stark for our whānau and tamariki who are struggling in the current fiscal environment, and in the wake of the covid pandemic.
The Government has indicated significant investment in housing, including specific funding being set aside for public and transitional housing, redesigning the emergency housing system, and further investment into the Homelessness Action Plan.
Specific funding has also been allocated to the emergency housing response in Rotorua and while this helps to address our most urgent and immediate housing needs, we do not want to be housing people in motels for any longer than we absolutely have to. While there continues to be a need for emergency housing, wrap-around services must remain in place as we build our way out of this crisis.
We remain loud, clear, and insistent in our message to the Government that Rotorua needs to get people out of motels and into proper, safe, appropriate housing and that we need new homes as quickly as possible to enable that to happen. We’ll be continuing to advocate on behalf of Rotorua and hope to see some of this housing budget specifically allocated to finding long-term, appropriate solutions to the critical housing issues we are facing here.
Other standouts from the budget include significant investment in health, specifically in strengthening primary and community care and Māori health services. Support for business growth will also be welcomed in Rotorua with investment set aside for regional development funding and targeted tourism support. With the borders now open, we can look to reinvest in Rotorua as a high value visitor destination, and a tourism investment of $54 million to support new innovation is very timely.
While these are all positive investments, they cannot be stand-alone. As I said following the pre-budget announcement about Police investment, it’s not just about numbers, collaboration across agencies and organisations is critical to funding and initiatives actually having an impact. Our experience with covid has taught us the value of working collaboratively within the community and we can continue to build on this.
There are a number of contributors to our social issues, and it is how we address these holistically that will make a difference.
I look forward to going through today’s announcements in more detail and better understanding what Budget 2022 can mean for Rotorua.