The State of the Nation report released today by Better Taxes Coalition member, The Salvation Army, shows persistent inequality across most measures, from child poverty and food insecurity, to unemployment and housing affordability.
The Better Taxes campaign endorses the remarks of Dr Bonnie Robinson, Salvation Army Director Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit, at the launch that something significant is required to address inequality and poverty in Aotearoa New Zealand:
“Rebalancing our tax system to gather more revenue from those who can most afford to contribute, and to fund the things that will improve living standards for everyone in Aotearoa is critical to shifting the dial on the shocking picture painted by the Salvation Army report,” said Glenn Barclay, spokesperson for the Better Taxes campaign.
The report lays bare numerous areas where we need to do more to support the most vulnerable in our communities:
- Child poverty rates have increased and the number of children in material hardship in 2024 was higher than the in 2018 (baseline measure).
- Numbers receiving welfare assistance rose over the last year, but restricted access to hardship support meant there was less support for households at this time of greater need.
- Food insecurity remained high in 2025. Salvation Army food assistance through food parcels increased with some 90,000 food parcels distributed, 7 percent higher than in 2024 and almost 50 percent more than in 2019 pre-Covid-19.
- Although household living cost increases eased over the last year, this was uneven and lower-income households still faced higher household costs increases compared to high earners.
- Public housing units increased, but new-builds are poised to fall off the cliff. While homelessness continued to rise and thousands remain on public housing lists, some specialised housing services for people facing homelessness actually reduced over the course of 2025.
- The data shows that structural settings continue to produce inequitable outcomes for tangata whenua and vulnerable communities.
“These are the kinds of pressures that are driving the fiscal challenges that the Treasury and Inland Revenue have identified in a number of recent reports. In order to address these pressures and enable everyone in Aotearoa New Zealand to live good lives we need to gather more revenue”, said Barclay.
The Better Taxes for a Better Future Campaign is a coalition of over 20 organisations led by Tax Justice Aotearoa.
We believe that tax reform is the only solution to the current challenges facing Aotearoa NZ. We need the tax system to:
- be transparent
- raise more revenue to enable us address the challenges we face
- make sure people who have more to contribute make that contribution: that we gather more revenue from wealth, gains from wealth, all forms of income, and corporates
- make greater use of fair taxes to promote good health and environmental health
- address the tax impact on the least well off in our society.