Think Pieces

Some problems we face as a society are so important, that the only ethical thing to do is resolve them, even if that seems impossible. Our levels of child poverty are one of these problems. The goal of the Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit of the Salvation Army is the...

In Aotearoa we are proud of our democracy—the idea of ‘one person one vote’. It is the very essence of an equal and fair society. For the most part it is good but, as Winston Churchill once said, ‘democracy is the worst form of government except for all those other...

What a roller coaster of a year 2023 was! Major weather events devastating many communities around Aotearoa; many homes were damaged beyond repair and roads were closed cutting off communities. Many families were also made homeless, impacting local and national economies. Cost-of-living pressures have been affecting many families. Foodbanks have...

The Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit (SPPU) of The Salvation Army 15th report ‘Whakatere Ana I Ngā Tere Navigating the Rapids’, right in the midst of the continuing rough waters of the Covid-19 pandemic. The first State of the Nation report in 2008 began by asserting that social progress has...

It’s time we truly disrupted the food insecurity status quo in Aotearoa. Dream with me for a bit whanau. What if we had a national network of social enterprise supermarkets, run by a partnership of churches, iwi groups, NGOs, and corporate stakeholders? What if this network was rooted in local...

Tugging away at the strands of the web of injustice that holds people in poverty and re-weaving the kete of social connection to create lives of dignity, purpose and hope. That is the daily work of social transformation that The Salvation Army seeks to be part of. How does the Budget 2021 help bring transformation for the people and communities we work with? ...

A Close Call for ‘No’ 50.7% to 48.4%. Our nation has spoken and voted not to legalise cannabis – but not by much. So, what happens now? Firstly, recreational cannabis remains illegal. The debate during the campaign was tough as community advocates from both sides argued about the evidence and...

Every three years the boards start going up, signs go up on the fences, pamphlets in the mailboxes, door knocking to handing out more pamphlets and, sometimes, if you’re in the right place at the right time, you just might catch a politician walking around with an entourage handing out...

I love all aspects of lolly scrambles—the risk and reward involved, the anticipation, the hope, the urgency, the lolly snobbery as you hunt for your favourite lollies, the joy of the one throwing out the lollies, the mad dash in all directions, and so on. But in a former life...

A kind of silence has descended on our communities over the past weeks. Many people comment that the lack of traffic noise means they can now hear the birds sing. Birds and other wildlife have become more present in our quietened streets and neighbourhoods. Perhaps it has not been so...

This year’s State of the Nation Report launched in February, had the theme—Tangata Whenua, Tangata Tiriti, Huia Tangata Kotahi—People of the Land, People of the Treaty, Bring Everyone Together.

In Psalm 133, the writer beautifully states that it is a beautiful thing when brethren or God’s people dwell together in unity. The word used for unity is the Hebrew word yachad which translates as union, togetherness or alikeness. Unity is notoriously difficult to achieve, particularly for a large group...