MEDIA RELEASE
15 February 2017
The Aotearoa Association of Social Workers congratulates the Salvation Army on their well-researched report’ State of
the Nation’ and recent workshops in Wellington. The findings of the report accord with what social workers observe every
day when supporting people for whom life in New Zealand is just not fair.
We call on the government and all political parties to join the dots.
What is the connection between having 20% of New Zealand children living in poverty and the government's perceived need
to spend a billion dollars on increasing prison beds? What is the link between housing instability and children the
educational achievement gap between low income and higher income areas? Government has an excellent social policy unit
that should be working with groups like the Salvation Army to look holistically at how social circumstances can be made
better and fairer for all.
ENDS