Beating Poverty

In 1890, Salvation Army founder William Booth estimated that a submerged 10 per cent of English citizens could be lifted out of poverty if given the necessary tools and opportunities. Despite a century of economic and social reform and a way of life still the envy of much of the world, some New Zealand citizens are still ‘submerged’ below the poverty line and have become social casualties.

Every day The Salvation Army stands alongside New Zealanders at crisis points in their lives. With this privilege comes a responsibility to ensure that what we learn brings improvement and change so other individuals and families don’t follow the same routes of crisis.

In 2004, The Salvation Army analysed the effectiveness of its social services. We discovered that, despite best efforts, more people were falling into poverty. To simply continue providing services without assisting and encouraging New Zealand governments to develop and implement policies to permanently improve the social and economic climate of the nation did not seem sensible or socially just. And so, in March 2004, the New Zealand Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit was born. Fundamental to our work is the belief that people are the centre of God’s creation and that their spiritual, social and physical salvation provides the true and enduring basis of progress.

The unit has its genesis in William Booth’s awareness of the need for intelligent and creative thinking and sound social research. Booth developed his own social policy unit, which he called an ‘intelligence department’, saying: If we are to effectively deal with the forces of social evil, we must have ready at our fingers’ tips the accumulated experience and information of the whole world on this subject ...  in which the accumulated experiences of the human race will be massed, digested, and rendered available to the humblest toiler in the great work of social reform.

Recapturing the vision

The unit recaptures our founder’s vision of contributing purposefully to a nation’s social and economic debates to improve the lives of the needy and vulnerable. Our bold mission statement—‘to work towards a New Zealand in which there is no poverty’—leads us to engage in research, education and advocacy to improve New Zealand’s social climate and reduce material need. Our staff has expertise in disciplines of economics, social policy and theology, and utilise professional research and policy development methods to prepare research papers, policy documents, submissions and articles.

We provide influential New Zealanders with robust information on the circumstances of the nation’s most vulnerable citizens so they can make creative, intelligent decisions on which policies and practices work best for those in need. The Salvation Army cannot eradicate poverty alone. The unit therefore engages with national and local politicians, business, educators and our colleagues in churches and community organisations to build social and economic structures that offer the chance of equity and justice to all. A further aspect of our work is to help people understand how the Gospel speaks into contemporary issues of New Zealand society. This includes organising regular ‘Just Action’ conferences that approach social justice and social policy from a Christian perspective, and publishing a monthly e-newsletter as well as occasional papers.

The Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit has become an essential tool in the mission of the New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga Territory. Its voice has given The Salvation Army unprecedented influence on policy making and the social and economic direction of New Zealand. This is a voice that speaks of a God who cares for and demands justice for his people, particularly those whose circumstances put them most at risk.

By Major Campbell Roberts (from SPPU)