4. Question No. 4—FinanceHon BARBARA EDMONDS (Labour—Mana) to the Minister of FinanceQuestion No. 4—Finance4. Hon BARBARA EDMONDS (Labour—Mana) to the Minister of Finance: Mālō 'aupito Mr Speaker. Does she stand by her statement We've acted swiftly to root-out waste reduce bureaucracy and move resources from the back-office to the front line"; if so is she confident New Zealanders have gained more from the tax cuts than they lost from the Budget 2024 baseline savings exercise?Hon NICOLA WILLIS (Minister of Finance): Yes and yes.Hon Barbara Edmonds: Why has Oranga Tamariki ended contracts with 190 front-line social service providers and a further 142 providers have had their funding reduced or are these contracts wasteful spending as described by the Prime Minister?Hon NICOLA WILLIS: Well if the member wants detailed answers on specific contract decisions by Oranga Tamariki I would encourage her to put those questions to the relevant Minister. I will make two points: first overall funding for Oranga Tamariki in the Budget increased; second if that member thinks that the position of a Government should be that every single contract signed up needs to be stuck in stone and never changed then she's delusional. In fact what our Government has committed to do is drive better services. We want New Zealand children to be safe we want there to be good and effective service delivery and Oranga Tamariki is expected to deliver on that.Hon Barbara Edmonds: Is it reasonable as part of her Budget 2024 baseline savings exercise for front-line social service providers to provide 100 percent of their contracted Government services with only 70 percent of the Government funding and is this consistent with the social services commissioning model?Hon NICOLA WILLIS: Our expectation is that we will drive better results for the taxpayers' money we invest in social service provision. We are particularly conscious that in recent years social service providers have watched while Wellington grew the dollars that went into Government agencies expanded the number of policy analysts and managers hired grew and yet those front-line service providers often only saw in return more contracting requirements more compliance and actually weren't able to deliver better results. Our Government is focused on ensuring the dollars actually make it to the front line.Hon Barbara Edmonds: What does she say to providers like Taeaomanino Trust Wesley Community Action Porirua Whānau Centre Barnardos Aotearoa Wairere Care Services North Shore Women's Centre WELLfed New Zealand Trust E Tipu E Rea and the Salvation Army who have all had reductions in funding and lost front-line staff as a result of her Budget '24 baseline savings exercise?Hon NICOLA WILLIS: Well I'd say to each of those social service providers the Government values what you do you play a significant role in helping New Zealanders in need and our Government wants to work with you to ensure we can make the maximum impact for the people you serve.Hon Barbara Edmonds: Was making funding cuts for Oranga Tamariki providers who serve our most vulnerable children worth it to pay for her tax cuts?Hon NICOLA WILLIS: Well I completely reject the accusation in the member's question. We invested every single dollar gained from savings at Oranga Tamariki back into Oranga Tamariki which overall had increased funding in the Budget."