May 30, 2020
Budget Maori promise too vague for Dalton
A south Auckland councilor is asking questions about how the council’s emergency budget will affect Maori.
At noon the council released options it is considering to deal with a $500 million shortfall in revenue because of COVID-19.
Manurewa-Papakura ward representative Angela Dalton says as well as lay-offs, salary cuts and deferred projects, it’s likely to mean cuts in bus timetables and services like library and pool hours.
She says there’s just one line saying Maori outcomes will be progressed as a key priority area.
"How can this be? Because when we look at the cuts across Auckland Transport and ATEED and the other CCOs as well as council there must be an impact, and so I've asked for more detail on exactly what the impacts for Maori are going to be because it's a bit of a one-liner," she says.
The Independent Maori Statutory Board is also pushing for more detail about the budget.
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