Some good news on the state of our nation:
- Crime is at a 34-year low
- Incomes and employment are rising
- Teenage pregnancy has plunged
- Infant mortality is the lowest in our history
- Gambling is declining
Unfortunately it is not all good news, child abuse is still rise and we still have one of the highest imprisonment rates in the world.
The Salvation Army State of the Nation Reports are designed to give a snapshot of 21 indicator areas, these are divided into five topics and ratings are provided: Children’s Wellbeing, Crime and Punishment, Work and Incomes, Social Hazards, and Housing.
In addition, this year’s report includes a supplementary section on work and welfare. This section considers what has happened to employment, unemployment and welfare take up over the past decade.
This report encourages us to take these findings and take action to help our vulnerable citizens. It also reminds us to look at why these changes are occurring, they cannot be pinpointed to one cause (or government’s measures), but by a whole community of change makers.
Find Simon Collins’ article on the release on this report on the NZ Herald here
Find the full report here