A New Zealand that STILL Demands Attention
21 Years of Research and Advocacy
When we realised that this year The Salvation Army’s Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit turned 21, we decided as a team that we needed to do something to mark this moment. Of course, traditionally in Aotearoa New Zealand turning 21 is a significant milestone. You are considered totally grown up at 21 and ready to take on the world.
For a unit dedicated to social justice and specifically the eradication of poverty in New Zealand, perhaps turning 21 is less about youthful endeavour and more about wisdom, maturity and staying power. For it is remarkable that The Salvation Army has had this unit for such a long length of time and sustained a commitment to working to transform society at all levels, individual, family, community and societal.
In doing this, The Salvation Army looks both backwards and forwards. Backwards to its founders, William and Catherine Booth, who well understood the impact that government and the way society was structured had on the individuals they were trying to help. Forwards, to a future that we know is achievable, where everyone has what they need to thrive and be who God intended them to be.
This collection of writings comes from people who have been associated with the SPPU in some way over the years. I would like to thank all those who took the time to share their reflections. Many are ex- and current staff, but there are also supporters and others who have assisted us with thinking and research, and those who simply appreciate what we have been trying to achieve. Together, these writings offer rich and varied perspectives on what it means to seek social justice, and to transform society by God’s power.
Dr Bonnie Robinson
Director—The Salvation Army Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit
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Ana Ika—Knowing the Law, Minimising the Harm
If you asked someone working in consumer finance whether they understood the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act, they likely would. A police officer would understand the Crimes Act. These…
Anneliese Johnston—Creating a Very Different Future
In 2013, every Tuesday and Thursday, I would catch the 7.10am bus (348) from my student flat in Onehunga, via Māngere, Papatoetoe and finally to the SPPU office in Bakerfield…
Antonio Ferreria de Lima—From Evidence to Action: Honouring SPPU’s 21 Years of Research and Advocacy
As we celebrate the twenty-first birthday of the Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit (SPPU) of The Salvation Army NZFTS, I see this as an opportunity to honour the profound impact…
Dr Bonnie Robinson—See, Think, Act (Repeat): Twenty-One Years of Being a Social Justice Voice in Aotearoa New Zealand
I was privileged to be the first staff person working alongside the Director Major Campbell Roberts, when the Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit (SPPU) started 21 years ago. When the…
Lt-Colonel Ian Hutson—Hope In an Aotearoa That Still Needs Attention
The Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit (SPPU) since its inception has been an inspiration for me as a Salvation Army officer. Initially, working in the addictions field, I understood the…
Major Ian Kilgour—A Transforming Story of ‘Social Justice’
It seems to me that William Booth’s modus operandi was very simple: ‘soup, soap and salvation’, and in that order. This was a simple version of Abrham Maslow’s more recent…
Dr Jonathan Boston—Honouring a Relentless Quest for Social Justice
Over the past two decades, The Salvation Army’s Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit has championed the cause of social justice in Aotearoa New Zealand in exceptional ways. Among other things, it has…
Kim Workman—Partners in Crime
In a 2004 report entitled A New Zealand that Demands Attention, The Salvation Army identified that a significant amount of social need was created by prison and punishment policies that…
Captain Dr Malcolm Irwin—Attending to the New Zealand of Our (In)Attention
Reflecting on the Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit’s (SPPU) earliest intervention into the public sphere, A New Zealand that Demands Attention, I found myself considering not only what it is…
Mike O’Brien—New Zealand Still Demands Attention
The first report from the Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit (SPPU) in 2004 was titled A New Zealand that Demands Attention. The purpose of the report was clearly set out…
Paul Barber—The Power of Faith-Based Advocacy in New Zealand: A Beacon of Hope Amidst Social Challenges
In times when socio-economic disparities remain wide, the role of faith-based organisations in advocating for social justice has never been more crucial. The Salvation Army's Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit…
Reina Tuai Penney—Gratitude for the Unit
Twenty-one years ago, when the Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit (SPPU) first published A New Zealand That Demands Attention, I was a single mum living in Otahuhu. I had high…
Major Sue Hay—A New Zealand that Demands Attention
The issue demanding the most attention during my period associated with the Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit (2014–2015) was housing. In that time, families living in cars became an increasingly…
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Why we Need SPPU
Antonio Ferreria de Lima—From Evidence to Action: Honouring SPPU’s 21 Years of Research and Advocacy
As we celebrate the twenty-first birthday of the Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit (SPPU) of The Salvation Army NZFTS, I see this as an opportunity to honour the profound impact…
Major Ian Kilgour—A Transforming Story of ‘Social Justice’
It seems to me that William Booth’s modus operandi was very simple: ‘soup, soap and salvation’, and in that order. This was a simple version of Abrham Maslow’s more recent…
Dr Jonathan Boston—Honouring a Relentless Quest for Social Justice
Over the past two decades, The Salvation Army’s Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit has championed the cause of social justice in Aotearoa New Zealand in exceptional ways. Among other things, it has…
Captain Dr Malcolm Irwin—Attending to the New Zealand of Our (In)Attention
Reflecting on the Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit’s (SPPU) earliest intervention into the public sphere, A New Zealand that Demands Attention, I found myself considering not only what it is…
Mike O’Brien—New Zealand Still Demands Attention
The first report from the Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit (SPPU) in 2004 was titled A New Zealand that Demands Attention. The purpose of the report was clearly set out…
Major Sue Hay—A New Zealand that Demands Attention
The issue demanding the most attention during my period associated with the Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit (2014–2015) was housing. In that time, families living in cars became an increasingly…
Housing
Lt-Colonel Ian Hutson—Hope In an Aotearoa That Still Needs Attention
The Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit (SPPU) since its inception has been an inspiration for me as a Salvation Army officer. Initially, working in the addictions field, I understood the…
Paul Barber—The Power of Faith-Based Advocacy in New Zealand: A Beacon of Hope Amidst Social Challenges
In times when socio-economic disparities remain wide, the role of faith-based organisations in advocating for social justice has never been more crucial. The Salvation Army's Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit…
Major Sue Hay—A New Zealand that Demands Attention
The issue demanding the most attention during my period associated with the Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit (2014–2015) was housing. In that time, families living in cars became an increasingly…
Crime and Punishment
Anneliese Johnston—Creating a Very Different Future
In 2013, every Tuesday and Thursday, I would catch the 7.10am bus (348) from my student flat in Onehunga, via Māngere, Papatoetoe and finally to the SPPU office in Bakerfield…
Dr Bonnie Robinson—See, Think, Act (Repeat): Twenty-One Years of Being a Social Justice Voice in Aotearoa New Zealand
I was privileged to be the first staff person working alongside the Director Major Campbell Roberts, when the Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit (SPPU) started 21 years ago. When the…
Kim Workman—Partners in Crime
In a 2004 report entitled A New Zealand that Demands Attention, The Salvation Army identified that a significant amount of social need was created by prison and punishment policies that…
Social Hazards
Ana Ika—Knowing the Law, Minimising the Harm
If you asked someone working in consumer finance whether they understood the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act, they likely would. A police officer would understand the Crimes Act. These…
Paul Barber—The Power of Faith-Based Advocacy in New Zealand: A Beacon of Hope Amidst Social Challenges
In times when socio-economic disparities remain wide, the role of faith-based organisations in advocating for social justice has never been more crucial. The Salvation Army's Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit…
Māori Wellbeing
Lt-Colonel Ian Hutson—Hope In an Aotearoa That Still Needs Attention
The Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit (SPPU) since its inception has been an inspiration for me as a Salvation Army officer. Initially, working in the addictions field, I understood the…
Reina Tuai Penney—Gratitude for the Unit
Twenty-one years ago, when the Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit (SPPU) first published A New Zealand That Demands Attention, I was a single mum living in Otahuhu. I had high…
What Has Changed?
Assessing the Impact of Faith-Based Advocacy in Social Policy in Aotearoa New Zealand
The Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit (SPPU) of The Salvation Army in New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga and Samoa Territory released the 18th State of the Nation report ‘Kai, Kainga, Whānau—The Basics Food, Homes and Family’ in February 2025, as the country finds itself in recession and international uncertainty. The first State of the Nation report in 2008 began by asserting that social progress has priority because it is about people. It was based on the key elements of priority to families and to the poor and addressing the widening gap between rich and poor. That focus has not changed in the following years.
‘The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice’ said Martin Luther King Jr and it makes sense to ask what change has come about over time, as The Salvation Army seeks to help bend the arc of history towards God’s kingdom of love and justice. How much can we understand progress towards justice at a national level through looking at changes in statistics that measure social outcomes? This study looks at two areas where significant social change has taken place—housing and problem gambling harm—and explores the role of The Salvation Army in contributing to that change.
