The Salvation Army in New Zealand says the government has fallen short of its promises to deliver transformational change for vulnerable Pacific families.
The Salvation Army's Royal Oak Foodbank is in high demand. Photo: Salvation Army
In the Salvation Army's latest State of the Nation report, figures and trends show that Pasifika people are disproportionately affected by housing shortages, social hazards and crime.
Now in its 15th year of publication, the state of the nation report provides a snapshot of social progress in New Zealand outlining six sections including: Children and Youth, Work and Incomes, Housing, Crime and Punishment, Social Hazards, and Māori Wellbeing.
Social policy analyst Ronji Tanielu said that the report has more bad news than good news for Pacific families.
Susana Suisuiki spoke to Ronji Tanielu on Pacific Waves
"For the social housing register or for those that are waiting for a state house in the community that sits at about 25,000 applicants overall," he said.
"But about 12 or 13 percent of that number is Pasifika so over 3000 applicants are Pacific. That's a really shocking number when you think about the fact that Pasifika only make up about seven or eight percent of the country and yet we almost make up 12 to 13 percent of those waiting for a state house."
Vulnerabilities and hardships were expected to increase since the outbreak of Covid-19, however Tanielu points out that unemployment levels had reduced.
"One of the things that did improve for Pacific families was that unemployment dropped to below pre-covid levels that shows how strong the employment market is and all of the efforts the government has done to try keep the economy alive during covid."
Ronji Tanielu says the Government has failed to deliver for Pacific famlies Photo: Salvation Army
Despite the improvement in unemployment, Pasifika people are overrepresented in crime and punishment statistics.
Social policy researcher, Ana Ika said that while the overall number of offenders in New Zealand have decreased, the number of victims and victimisation have increased.
"The number of Pasifika people in prison is at 12 percent and in the areas of family violence 11 percent of those charged with family violence offence are of Pasifika ethnicity," she said.
The New Zealand government currently has the greatest Pacific representation, however Ronji Tanielu stresses that the Pacific politicians need to make courageous decisions to assist the most vulnerable.
"Pasifka people are blessed to have so many Pacific MPs and ministers but
I guess my challenge back to them is we're not seeing that much change. This government promised transformational change," he said.
Tanielu added that hasn't been any new child poverty statistics since 2020 but said that there now 209,000 children that live in a benefit-dependent home - a 21,000 increase since the global pandemic hit New Zealand.
Ana Ika says victim and victimisations statistics have increased Photo: Salvation Army
"We want the most vulnerable at-risk people to be helped whether they're brown, purple, yellow or green it doesn't matter," he said.
"I think the government needs a bit of courage to make some decisions around what policies will really make a shift in these social issues and not just rely on ideological fights. There's too much ideology and not enough action."
For Pasifika families who find themselves in financial hardship, Ana Ika emphasised that there is no shame in asking for help.
"My encouragement for our Pasifika community who are doing well is please reach out to your relatives or your church members that might be struggling or don't have a way to vocalise their need for help," she said.
"It's difficult in our Pasifika culture to ask for a hand but to our families who are struggling just know that there is a lot of help out there."