Budget Policy Statement (BPS) 2025
Summary
- The Salvation Army Te Ope Whakaora welcomes the opportunity to submit on the Budget Policy Statement 2025 (BPS). Our submission focuses on the commitments made to basing the Budget 2025 on a social investment approach to drive better results from social services and improve life outcomes for people.
- The economic downturn of the past two years and reduced government spending on crucial social supports is deepening hardship. We renew our call for comprehensive social investment analysis to be applied to all major Budget 2025 decisions. Such an approach needs to place spending in the context of expected social benefits that arise from it.
- Food insecurity is rising, and we urge Government to continue to resource direct food support and work with NGOs, communities and businesses to design a social investment plan to end food insecurity.
- The large increase in public housing during 2024 has had measurable impact enabling a significant reduction in those on the housing register waiting to be housed. The current level of planned public housing is not sufficient to continue to reduce housing need. There is a strong social investment case to support further increases to public housing number above those planned in the next two years.
- A social investment approach requires a broader understanding of wellbeing outcomes than is acknowledged in the BPS goals statement. It should include analysis of how Budget investments contribute to reducing the disparities in outcomes experienced by Māori and Pacific, who face large disparities in some social outcomes.
- Other areas that must also be seen as priorities include: child poverty reduction, reducing violent offending and family violence, supporting successful reintegration of people on release from prison, and responses to rising meth and other illicit drug addictions.
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