Although child poverty rates, school attendance rates and economic conditions are gradually improving across the county, there are concerns that Pacific communities are being left behind.
Ana Ika, a social policy analyst at the Salvation Army, says she’s seeing the effects of social pressure firsthand.
“Every morning, there is a line outside my house of people asking for food assistance, but when they come, it’s usually a question of income.”
The Salvation Army has released a National Situation Report examining housing, poverty and crime.
Although the total number of children living in material hardship has decreased by 30,500, Ika said there are still 39,900 children living in difficult conditions in the Pacific; It has not changed since 2019.
“When it comes to material hardship, children are unable to go to the doctor, sometimes miss out on food and sometimes cannot buy warm clothing, disproportionately impacting Māori and Pasifika children. ”
Children in the Pacific are more than twice as likely as children in Asia or Europe to experience material hardship, with four in 10 children in the Pacific reporting that they often or sometimes lack food. I am.
The Salvation Army distributed 92,000 food parcels last year, but the cost of living has been devastating for some families, Ika said.
“More and more families are working, so it’s not just normal whānau coming in on welfare, it’s a whole range of families coming in who are fully satisfied in terms of income and employment. Masu.”
The median wage for Palagi men is $33 an hour, compared to $28 an hour for Pacific women. Mr Ica said this was partly due to the type of work, but it also had an impact on pay disparity.
“We prefer to work primarily in the social sector, and we prefer to work in services that don’t pay well but are well received by the community, which contributes to the pay gap. .
“If we’re not getting paid enough, that has a negative impact on our housing, and it has a negative impact on the amount of food we can buy when we go to the supermarket.”
The unemployment rate for workers in the Pacific region is also higher at 8.1%, compared to 3.1% for workers in Europe.
housing
Although there has been some improvement in social housing with the addition of 15,000 homes in Kāinga Ora this year, Mr Ika said there were 25,000 applicants on the social housing register, with around one in seven applicants. The person is from a Pacific family.
“The challenge with having so many numbers on this register is that we don’t know where those families are. Like many Pasifika families, they are in temporary housing, emergency housing, overcrowded They may be in a residence.”
addictive substance
Overall, hazardous drinking is at 16 per cent nationally, but drinking rates among Pacific men remain “stubbornly high” at 21.5 per cent, Ica said.
“If you look at alcohol in general, it causes around $7 billion in social harm across New Zealand. This is the very accepted nature of alcohol in our society, and there is significant work being done to remove it. I believe it is necessary to restrict bottle shops and alcohol-related advertising from our community. ”
Commuting to school
School attendance has improved since the pandemic, but Pacific students’ regular third-term attendance rate is 33.8%, compared to the national average of 45.9%.
School attendance rates in the Pacific region remain among the lowest of all ethnic groups.Photos/Reports
fight against crime
The Coalition Government is pushing ahead with changes to the justice system, removing funding for cultural reporting in court proceedings. Mr Ika said the report should drive decisions to “be smart about crime and ensure our justice system is well-equipped to deal with increasing levels of crime in our communities”. He said it was suggested.
“One size does not fit all, so the way we deal with crime in Aotearoa requires a different approach than just locking everyone up and throwing away the key.”
social solutions
Although the situation is dire, Ica says the solution is multifaceted.
“One of the big reasons we’re writing this report is to give it back to government and say, ‘This is a benchmark, this is a starting point,’ and build on what’s worked so far. We need to encourage the government to make progress, but we also need to address what hasn’t worked.
“We can’t all rely on government. It’s a partnership that we need to be able to work with government to help our communities do what they do best.”
You can read the full interview on “Pacific Morning” here.