State of the Nation 2026: Kiwi Families Under Growing Economic Pressure
The Salvation Army’s State of the Nation 2026 report, titled Foundations of Wellbeing – Poipoia te Kākano – paints a sobering picture of wellbeing across Aotearoa New Zealand, with many whānau facing rising hardship, fewer opportunities, and increased pressure on basic living conditions.
“The past two years have been incredibly hard for communities. While we have seen pockets of progress, most wellbeing indicators remain flat or are heading in the wrong direction,” says Dr Bonnie Robinson, director of the Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit at The Salvation Army. “Families are doing their best, but the systems around them are not giving them a fair chance.”
This year’s report includes applying a Te Ao Māori wellbeing framework, showing that identity, connection, belonging, and cultural foundations are being undermined by material hardship, housing instability, and long-term structural inequities.
“We see resilience every day at the frontline of our services,” says Bonnie. “But we also see barriers. Many families are doing everything they can under enormous constraints.”
Despite widespread pressures, several areas show encouraging signs. Alcohol use has declined steadily over several years and youth offending continues to fall — evidence that community-led and preventative approaches can make a real difference.
Key Findings
- Child poverty and material hardship are rising, with tamariki Māori and Pacific children continuing to experience disproportionately high rates of hardship.
- Unemployment has increased and cost-of-living pressures remain high, leaving more households unable to meet essential needs.
- Housing instability remains a major barrier, with unaffordable rents and rising homelessness disrupting education, employment, wellbeing, and whakapapa connections.
- Violent crime has decreased but family violence continues to increase, reaching its highest level since 2018 despite a tougher criminal justice approach.
- Youth offending and overall alcohol use have decreased, showing the positive impact of community-led and preventative work.
- Overall illicit‑drug use declined this year, with fewer people reporting cannabis and amphetamine‑type drug use. However, methamphetamine and cocaine consumption is far higher than three years ago, indicating shifting and increasingly harmful drug‑use patterns.
The report this year includes analysis based on the Māori wellbeing framework that looks at:
- Kawa (intrinsic quality of life and identity)
- Tikanga (structural and societal conditions)
- Āhuatanga (observable outcomes)
- Ritenga (behavioural responses within constraints)
This analysis shows that structural settings continue to produce inequitable outcomes, with Māori still overrepresented in state care, poorer health indicators, and disproportionately high imprisonment and reimprisonment rates.
Encouragingly, kaupapa Māori approaches are delivering strong results:
- Māori hazardous drinking has fallen significantly over the past five years.
- Rangatahi learning predominantly in te reo Māori are achieving NCEA at similar rates to non-Māori.
- Whānau who receive holistic, identity-strengthening support experience measurable improvements.
The Salvation Army urges government, iwi, community partners and business leaders to prioritise long-term investment in prevention, reintegration, affordable housing, and culturally grounded wellbeing support, with a special focus on making measurable progress in decreasing rates of child poverty.
“Communities have strength, but they need the support of good government policy to provide the resources and systems that allow whānau to flourish,” says Bonnie.
The Salvation Army Territorial Media Officer, 021 945 337, email: media@salvationarmy.org.nz (The Media Officer responds to enquiries from media outlets and journalists. If you would like to donate, are in need of help, or have some other non-media-related enquiry, please call 0800 53 00 00.)
State of the Nation 2026: Kei te Whakapiki te Taumahatanga ki ngā Whānau o Aotearoa
Kua puta te pūrongo State of the Nation 2026 a Te Ope Whakaora, Foundations of Wellbeing – Poipoia te Kākano, e whakaatu ana i te āhua o te noho o te iwi puta noa. Ko te nuinga o ngā whānau kei te raru i te pikinga o ngā utu, te kore o ngā whare, me te kore whai wāhitanga e tika ana kia tū pakari ai.
E ai ki a Dr Bonnie Robinson, Kaiwhakahaere o te Rōpū Kaupapa Here:
“Ko ngā tau e rua i pahuri ake nei, he mea pouri ki ngā hāpori. Ahakoa he pai ētahi wāhi iti, ko ngā tini o ngā tohu oranga, e mau ana ki te pōraruraru. Kei te whakapau kaha ngā whānau, ā, kāore tonu ngā pūnaha e whāngai i te tika mō rātou.”
He wāhanga nui o te pūrongo ko te Tirohanga Māori, e mārama ai:
- kei te whakangaro te rawakore i te tuakiri me te mana tangata,
- kei te motu ngā hononga kainga, iwi, hāpori,
- ā, kei te mau tonu ngā āhuatanga tōkekekore i roto i ngā hanganga kāwanatanga.
Ka kī anō a Bonnie:
“I ngā rā katoa ka kite mātou i te pakari o te wairua o te tangata. Engari ka kite hoki mātou i ngā taiepa nui kei mua i a rātou.”
Ahakoa ēnei taumahatanga, e kitea ana hoki ētahi tupu pai:
- kei te heke haere te inu waipiro,
- kei te heke tonu ngā hara rangatahi,
— he tohu ka whai hua ngā rautaki ā-hapori.
Ngā Kitenga Matua o te Pūrongo
- Kei te piki te rawakore o ngā tamariki, ā, ko te nuinga he tamariki Māori, he tamariki o te MoananuiaKiwa.
- Kei te piki te kore mahi, ā, he taumaha tonu te utu o te ao.
- He take nui tonu te noho kāinga, nā te utu teitei me te kore whare e tau ai te whanaketanga o ngā tamariki, te hauora, me te mātauranga.
- Kei te heke ngā momo hara kino, engari kei te piki te tukino āwhānau, ā, koinei te taumata teitei rawa mai i 2018.
- Kei te heke te hara rangatahi me te inu waipiro whānui.
- Kua heke te whakamahi tarukino hē, engari kua tino piki ake te whakamahi methamphetamine me te cocaine i roto i ngā tau e toru kua pahure.
Te Tirohanga Māori ki te Oranga
Ka titiro te pūrongo mā te anga Māori e whā:
Kawa
Te tuakiri, te ira tangata, te Mauri o te Ora.
Tikanga
Ngā herenga āpūnaha, āhanganga e pā ana ki te oranga o te whānau.
Ritenga
Ngā whanonga me ngā urupare a te tangata i raro i te taumahatanga.
Āhuatanga
Ngā hua ka puta, ka kitea, ka rangona e te whānau.
Ka puta te whakatau:
Kei te whakanui tonu ngā hanganga kāwanatanga i ngā putanga tōkekekore mō ngāi Māori.
Kei te mate tonu ngāi Māori i te hauora koretake, te nui o te herehere, me te noho a ngā tamariki Māori i raro i te punaha tiaki a te kāwanatanga.
He Tohu Pai hoki ā ngāi Māori
- Kei te tino hekengia te inu waipiro kino a te Māori i roto i ngā tau e rima.
- Kei te rite te whakatutuki a ngā rangatahi e ako ana i te reo Māori ki ētahi atu i te NCEA.
- Ko ngā whānau e whiwhi ana i te tautoko āhua Māori—arā, he tautoko e whakapakari ana i te tuakiri me te whanaungatanga — e kitea ana te pikinga o te oranga.
Te Karanga a Te Ope Whakaora
E tono ana a Te Ope Whakaora kia mahi ngātahi te Kāwanatanga, ngā iwi, ngā rōpū hapori me te ao pakihi ki te:
- whakangao roa ki ngā kaupapa haumi,
- tautoko i te hokinga mai ki te hapori,
- hanga whare utuka taea te whai, te hoko.
- me te manaaki oranga e ū ana ki te ao Māori.
Ko te tino whāinga:
kia heke te rawakore o ngā tamariki, kia tupu ngā kākano o ā tātou whānau.
Hei kupu whakakapi nā Bonnie:
“He kaha te hapori Māori, he kaha te hapori whānui. Engari me tika ngā kaupapa here kia whai hua ai ngā whānau. Mā te tautoko tika ka puāwai te tangata.”
The Salvation Army Territorial Media Officer, 021 945 337, email: media@salvationarmy.org.nz (The Media Officer responds to enquiries from media outlets and journalists. If you would like to donate, are in need of help, or have some other non-media-related enquiry, please call 0800 53 00 00.)