Across West Auckland, community organisations expressed significant concern about funding reductions and the impact this will have on their operations and, ultimately, the communities they serve.

West Auckland Together, with the support of West Auckland Māori Thought Leadership Collective and Le Moana West Collective, investigated these concerns with community organisations from the region.

The results showed:

• 24 organisations reported $3,228,612 total loss of funding

• The range of cuts was from $7,762 to $490,000 showing an average of $134,525.50.

• The range of cuts as a percentage of turnover was from 2% to 90%

• The funding cuts have been universal, with government cuts being the most prevalent, followed by reductions from local government, gaming, and philanthropic funders. Across the responses, 73% indicated that government funding cuts represented the largest reduction, followed by gaming funding at 15%.

• The impact of the funding cuts has been wide reaching and has clearly diminished essential services that are vital for the well-being of the community with youth/rangatahi the most affected by the changes.