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The State of the Nation Report 2022

State of the Nation Report 2022

 

NAVIGATING THE RAPIDS In the hope of TRAVERSING POSITIVE PATHWAYS FOR CHANGE

WHAKATERE ANA I NGĀ TERE I te tūmanakotanga o WHAKAWHITI ANA I TĒTAHI ARA TŌRUNGA MŌ TE HURINGA

This year The Salvation Army’s Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit (SPPU) has produced its 15th annual State of the Nation report. This is a significant milestone in the life of SPPU. We have 15 years of measuring progress, stagnation and at times regression of various aspects of life in our communities; 15 years of data collection enables us to track and raise awareness of the areas of concern and inequity in our nation. State of the Nation 2022 continues this analysis, as we examine the indicators of how our people are faring, and as we attempt to chart social progress towards reducing poverty and exclusion.

At the start of 2022, the multifaceted impacts of the continuing Covid-19 pandemic and the associated turbulence seemed to be encircling us. We have attempted to make sense of the extraordinary 2021 year and its immediate outcomes within the context of our nation’s longer-term social progress. There are gains, but there are also losses:

  • we have seen limited but steady progress in reducing child poverty by some measures, albeit starting from an unacceptably high starting point
  • there is clear progress with the increase in the number of houses being built, including social housing for those people who desperately require affordable housing
  • the resilience of the economy throughout the extraordinary measures related to Covid-19 is surely good news for many New Zealanders, but by no means all of us—we are still seeing major inequities in our Māori and Pasifika communities
  • house prices and rental costs have continued to soar, putting a significant strain on families as they struggle to access the housing market
  • the Housing Register has ballooned up to 25,000 on the wait list, suggesting that many are struggling
  • there are 21,000 more children living in benefit-dependent households than before the pandemic
  • families are experiencing the precarious nature of surviving on inadequate levels of income
  • we continue to face challenges of violence towards children, the need to reduce the harm of addictions and improve the mental health of youth.

Inequality is like a river wending its way through our life and times, stretching back over the 15 years of reporting. There is so much more to be done to deal with the levels of social and economic inequality that so stubbornly persist. It raises the question: are we as a nation making the structural changes needed to achieve greater equality?

It is hoped that this report mapping our social progress will help us navigate our way through the turbulent rapids of our times. We hope the level of social cohesion experienced over this pandemic period might be the catalyst to deal with the social inequality of those on the margins. We hope that we can all see ourselves as belonging within a community, where we can all have a place in the waka in which to navigate and traverse these turbulent times.


All of the statistics used in the report are embedded into our interactive dashboard. The report is available for download in both a full-length report and a summary document. The dashboard and major sections of the report can also be explored using the headings below.


Sections: Home | Introduction | Children & Youth | Work and Incomes | Housing | Crime and Punishment | Social Hazards | Māori Wellbeing 

Data: Interactive Dashboard

Download State of the Nation: Full report | Summary document