Sallies slam Govt policies

The Government is spending billions of dollars more on social policies to little or no effect, a damning new report says.

The Salvation Army has slammed the Government's performance on a range of social service indicators, just as Prime Minister Helen Clark prepares to unveil Labour's programme at the opening of Parliament today.

In its first state-of-the-nation report, the Salvation Army found that despite increasing core social spending by $16 billion to $39b a year over the past 10 years, there had been little increase in social progress.

"In fact the gap between the rich and poor appears to be widening."

The report -- What does it profit us? -- found fault with a host of areas of Government policy in areas Labour prides itself on achievements.

More children were in the care of Child, Youth and Family, and the incidence of child neglect and abuse was rising.

Youth offending was on the increase, along with teen pregnancy, abortion, and accident rates.

There was continuing educational inequality, rising serious and violent crime, and a burgeoning prison population.

Kiwis were drinking more, and gambling more, losing $2 billion a year -- an average of $656 per person, the Salvation Army said.

Against this, wage growth remained "very modest", 250,000 people remained on welfare benefits, household debt was up and houses were fast becoming unaffordable.

The Salvation Army's social policy and parliamentary unit director, Major Campbell Roberts, said the Government was placing too much emphasis on economics and not enough on the way people were living their lives.

"More children appear to be at risk of harm, more are engaged in petty crime, there is more violent crime and more people in jails," Roberts said.

"While more New Zealanders are working than ever before and many have benefited from the recent housing market boom, incomes have risen only modestly, we are chronically indebted, and home ownership rates have dropped. If we are to make real social progress then we need as a country to reflect on the relative priority we give to economic issues versus social concerns.

"We have a duty to ensure that the most vulnerable in our society are not left behind."

The findings are a blow to Labour as Clark prepares for her annual opening address to Parliament today, in which she is expected to emphasise the Government's social achievements and lay out its plans for the coming election year.

Clark is expected to outline the Government's agenda for the year, kicking off a 14-hour set-piece debate. Question Time resumes tomorrow.

National's social development spokeswoman, Judith Collins, said the Salvation Army's report was a wake-up call for the Government and a sign that its policies were failing.

"Increasing social spending isn't going to do much if you're spending it all on flash new offices in Wellington. That doesn't put a new pair of shoes on a child."

Collins said National would channel more public funding into non-government providers such as the Salvation Army. Social Development Minister Ruth Dyson said she welcomed the report. "Our Government recognises the importance of social indicators."

Dyson said another report issued by the Ministry of Social Development had found progress had been made in areas such as early childhood education and employment.

"We can do more to lift living standards for Maori and Pacific people. But we're certainly heading in the right direction."

MAIN FINDINGS CYF referrals up 24% since 2005. Youth Court cases up 28% since 2001. 8300 women aged 15-19 pregnant compared to 7000 in 2001. Serious crime up 28% since 2002. Prison population up 36% since 2002. Prison running costs up from $431m to $862m. Wage growth 5.1% since 2002.

- © Fairfax NZ News