The Salvation Army is challenging political parties to move beyond election slogans and explain how they will tackle the everyday pressures facing communities across Aotearoa.
Ahead of the 2026 General Election, the organisation has identified food security, housing, the cost of living, poverty, welfare and tax, justice reintegration and addiction as pressing issues requiring practical solutions.
The Salvation Army wants those challenges considered through poipoia te kākano, a Māori wellbeing framework centred on nurturing the foundations people need to thrive — including a place to stand, mana and dignity, pathways to opportunity, prevention and support.
Director of the Salvation Army’s Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit Dr Bonnie Robinson says food insecurity is solvable, but households continue to face significant pressure as incomes struggle to keep pace with essential costs.
The organisation is also calling for political parties to explain how their welfare and tax policies will support lower-income households while funding housing, healthcare, education, infrastructure and climate resilience.
Housing remains another major concern, with the Salvation Army calling for clear plans to address homelessness, provide immediate support for people without adequate shelter and create pathways into secure long-term housing.
It also wants greater attention paid to helping people leaving prison successfully reintegrate into their communities and to addressing addiction.
With voters heading to the polls on 7 November, the Salvation Army says the campaign should ultimately answer a straightforward question — how will the policies being offered actually improve life for people and whānau experiencing hardship?
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