St John and Wellington Free Ambulance Service are the two benefactors of the Government's pre-budget announcement. In total, the Government allocated $38.2 million in this year's budget for St John and Wellington Free Ambulance. Today's announcement, however, does not mean the ambulance providers would be able to stop relying on donations, Peters said. The new funding comes amid increasing calls for the Government to put more money into ambulance services. St John provides emergency ambulance services to nearly 90% of New Zealanders in 97% of the country's geographic locations.

Source: Otago Daily Times May 20, 2019 21:22 UTC