A litany of excuses

The latest Salvation Army State of the Nation Report 2026 presents a litany of excuses for the sorry state of New Zealand's social statistics, in particular, those relating to Maori.

The report is divided into sections covering children and youth, work and incomes, housing, crime and punishment and social hazards. Each section ends with a Te Ora o Te Whanau lens view.

After the section on children and youth comes the following:

    "The over representation of Māori tamariki and rangatahi in state care (p.9) reflects the enduring impacts of colonisation and breaches of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, where systems were founded without authentic, shared decision-making. These systems perpetuate structural barriers that drive poverty and material hardship for whānau, creating conditions that can result in tamariki and rangatahi entering state care."

After work and incomes we read:

    "Today, despite the Māori economy contributing billions to the New Zealand economy, systemic barriers in the labour market and welfare system mean some tangata whenua cannot access economic opportunities. These disproportionate inequities are due to current systems and the lasting impacts of colonisation that dismantled Māori economic autonomy through land alienation and resource loss, creating enduring disadvantage. This disadvantage includes inequitable access to, and institutional racism in, non-Māori-led education and training, discrimination in hiring, and policy settings that favour individuals over collective models. The result is a paradox: a thriving Māori economy alongside persistent unemployment and government welfare benefit support, limiting the ability of some Māori to exercise tino rangatiratanga."

Following housing:

    "Home anchors identity and belonging. Despite an increase in public housing, thousands remain on the Housing Register waiting for secure housing (p.52). For tangata whenua experiencing housing insecurity or homelessness, this disrupts connections to te ao Māori and limits the ability to exercise tino rangatiratanga. Being grounded in whānau, hapū and iwi is fundamental to Māori identity, yet without stable housing whakapapa connections fracture, leading to isolation with lasting impacts on knowing who you are and where you belong."

Subsequent to crime and punishment:

    "For tangata whenua, the ongoing impacts of colonisation and systematic failure to uphold Te Tiriti o Waitangi in terms of how our criminal justice system works cannot be separated from the disproportionate overrepresentation of Māori caught up in the system. Colonial policies, land alienation and the imposition of state justice systems that do not represent partnership have had long‑lasting effects that continue to shape Māori experiences in the criminal justice system today."

And finally in response to social hazards:

    "Tangata whenua and communities experiencing poverty and material hardship sometimes navigate these harms through constrained choices. Drinking to cope with stress, gambling for hope or relying on high-cost credit are not failures, they are survival strategies in systems that may offer few good options. These behaviours reflect attempts to mitigate chronic negative circumstances or desperate situations, rather than a lack of motivation or capability."

This is just a small taste. The Maori lens responses run to pages.

This type of apologism from the Salvation Army used to provoke anger in me. Now it only stirs a sense of despair. The fact they have added this new feature to their otherwise useful annual report, cements a rejection of their traditional philosophy which was apparently rooted in personal responsibility and mutual accountability.

But is the concept of personal responsibility foreign to Maori? I don't believe it is. Frequently we hear sports figures talking about "looking in the mirror" after a failure. They understand the criticality of taking responsibility because change primarily - though not necessarily wholly - comes from within.

The constant rejection of this reality by academics and other public policy pundits can do no good.

There have always been jobs for people who want to work. Who feel it is their duty to work. Why are our rest homes routinely staffed by young Philippine, Malaysian, Indian, Fijian women and not Maori? The same question could be asked of many sectors which provide work well-suited to young mothers. And I focus on Maori women (as opposed to men) because they are instrumental to raising Maori children.

In yet another over-representation, 48 percent of single mothers on welfare are Maori. Many of them do not want to work. It's easier to be ministered to by do-gooders who reassure that the system is against them, they are deprived of opportunity because Te Tiriti is not being honoured and their plight has nothing to do with their own decisions.

If I had someone telling me that, I would want to prove them wrong. But I am not Maori.

In the face of this report the best response the government could make is to defund the Salvation Army for being part of the problem.