Newshub understands there will be a seriously significant investment in Māori health in the Budget on Thursday.
In last year's Budget, there was a $1.1 billion package for Māori and we understand this year's package will rival that massive spend.
A chunk will go to setting up the Māori Health Authority but the pandemic really shone a light on so many of the health inequities Māori face and left providers scrambling for resources.
It left the Government on the back foot and on the defensive, so a spend of this scale should go down well with Māori.
But you can bet it won't sit well with the Opposition. Both National and ACT have promised to abolish the Māori Health Authority if they got into Government.
National leader Christopher Luxon made his stance on the health reforms crystal clear at a party conference at the weekend.
"We'll abolish the Maori Health Authority," Luxon said.
Whereas ACT leader David Seymour claims the new Māori Health Authority would increase bureaucracy.
Health Minister Andrew Little's said the new authority will "transform Māori health".
"For too long the kind of healthcare you receive has depended on where you live and our health system has been about trying to treat people in hospitals for conditions that could have, and should have, been dealt with sooner," Little said.
"We need a system that works for everyone, and that is what we are building."
