Minister celebrates vital marae funding, but the Budget just cut the programme

Thursday, 4 June 2026

Climate Minister Simon Watts spoke to Stuff at Waiwhetū Marae, which could be one of the last marae to receive funding for its emergency preparedness.

At Waiwhetū Marae on Thursday, Climate Minister Simon Watts lauded the work being done to prepare the Lower Hutt marae for climate emergencies.

However, this marae could be one of the last to receive emergency resilience funding.

Iwi leaders in Wellington, and the minister himself, say this is vital work which is cutting costs for marae, the Government, and councils, which will otherwise need to fund their own emergency centres, or leave communities exposed.

Thanks to Government funding, solar panels are being installed on the wharenui, named Arohanui ki te Tangata, and two big water tanks are in place outside the whare waka. That means this marae will be able to help when the next severe weather event hits Wellington. It can provide shelter, power and drinking water to families who need it.

“This doesn’t just benefit Māori, it benefits everyone within the communities where these facilities (marae) are based. It’s an important investment in people’s futures,” Watts said, in an interview with Stuff at the marae on Thursday.

But that investment is scheduled to end very soon.

Since 2022, the Government has been funding marae to build flood protection, install solar panels and water tanks, and complete other climate resilience work.

The “Māori Climate Platform Fund”, started under the previous Labour Government, allocated $30.5 million across four years to fund projects until mid-2027.

Climate Minister Simon Watts at Waiwhetū Marae in Lower Hutt.

When the National-led coalition came to power, it slashed the funding allocated to the marae resilience fund.

Funding was cut in Budget 2024, and again in Budget 2025, which reduced the fund by another 33%.

By June 2026, Watts said there had been a bit over $10m invested into marae resilience - $20m less than was originally budgeted.

160 marae waiting for funding

Watts visited Waiwhetū Marae on Thursday to confirm which marae would receive funding as part of Stage 2 of the resilience funding, worth $7.25m.

He said there had been 112 applications for funding, and the Government had signed off on just 16 of those requests. “Stage 2 of the funding programme was exceptionally competitive,” he said.

Since the funding started in 2022, 51 marae had received grants.

Funding was on the way for six marae in the Eastern Bay of Plenty and Waikato, two regions which have faced regular extreme weather events. Funding was also approved for solar panels and battery systems at Kokohinau, Uiraroa, Kaputahi, Te Kauae, Korapatu and Mirumiru ki Marokopa marae.

But once that work was done, the Government made no promise to help any more marae build their emergency preparedness.

“We haven't made decisions in regards to the future funding,” Watts said.

A Government Budget can commit funding for four years ahead. Asked why Budget 2026 didn’t commit future funding for climate resilience, Watts said “those would be discussions and considerations for the future”.

While talking up the effectiveness of the scheme, he also defended cutting the marae resilience funding from $30.5m to about $11m.

“Well, the reality is, is that as a government, we've had to ensure that our funding allocations across all portfolios are targeted, noting the fiscal reality which we inherited,” he said.

Iwi leaders agree funding has been a huge success, question why it’s stopping

Waiwhetū Marae in Lower Hutt is getting solar panels, to help it continue to operate during climate emergencies.

Marama Royal, who leads the Iwi Chairs Forum climate change response, said it was disappointing the Government hadn’t committed to continuing this investment.

“The Government has made no commitment to ensuring Māori communities, some of the most at risk to climate impacts, will be provided for in its climate change policies,” she said.

She said marae stood up to help the community when needed, and the Government should help them.

Declan Millin speaks to Stuff's Glenn McConnell at Waiwhetū Marae.

“It is marae that show up in a crisis, it is marae that are our gathering places, it is marae that hold our stories and our identities,” she said.

At Waiwhetū Marae, Declan Millin, who worked on the funding application with Te Rūnanganui o te Āti Awa, said the Government funding helped mare with the cost of power but, more importantly, meant they were able to keep working for their communities during emergencies.

“We did have a power outage recently, which lasted more than 24 hours, it meant our marae and our kōhanga were not able to operate,” he said.

But he said all marae, across the country, always did what they could to help in times of need.

“Marae have been doing this forever, because they feel obliged to the community and must respond to the community.

“It is good that the Government recognised this. Marae should not have to fund all of this itself, to do something which is actually for all of the community and not just the marae,” he said.

With the improvements, the marae was working with Wellington Region Emergency Management Office (WREMO) and Lower Hutt Council on its civil defence plans. Lower Hutt Mayor Fauono Ken Laban supported the investment, saying it would help the entire city.