The hidden cost of cutting support for young whānau

Kia ora koutou,

In her recent article for The Spinoff, Zoe Witika‑Hawke challenges the idea that Budget 2025 is making “savings” by cutting back on early intervention services. She explains that reducing investment in mental health, housing and kaupapa Māori services for young parents simply shifts the burden to the justice, education and health systems further down the line.

Zoe argues that this kind of “efficiency” delays and compounds problems. A $20 million parenting support fund is a start, but without wraparound support and safe housing, many young māmā and pāpā will still fall through the cracks. The cost? Intergenerational harm and a cycle of disadvantage that could have been prevented.

“When you reduce funding to the early years, you don’t save money. You just shift the cost onto our young whānau, onto our systems, and onto our mokopuna.”

– Zoe Aroha Witika‑Hawke

At E Tipu E Rea, we support Zoe’s call to invest in those first 2,000 days as a commitment to our future.

Read the full article on The Spinoff.