Winston Peters has proved why our diplomatic service loves him as their Foreign Minister.

Over the next four years, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and its aid budget will be boosted by almost a billion dollars.

The lion's share of the money, more than $714 million, will go to our aid programme, most of it into the Pacific region.

It'll be spent on climate change initiatives and support for youth in the region to have access to health, education and training.

Peters says spending over the past nine years has fallen well below international averages and it's time we were a responsible international citizen.

The Ministry itself get just on $200 million for more staff and a reopened embassy in Sweden.

The Foreign Minister is presiding over a Budget spend of almost a billion dollars and says it's simply a case of restoring a run down ministry, neglected by National for almost a decade.

"This left New Zealand open to criticism that we had abandoned our neighbourhood, and more troubling that the previous Government weakened our hand in the Pacific at the most varied and critical time the region has become a more crowded and contested political space. Today, that stops."

Peters says this is the beginning of restoration.

"To not restore this lost capacity would see a decline in credibility as our words become harder and harder and harder to support through our deeds."