[Anglican Taonga] Leaders from the Anglican, Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, and Presbyterian churches have joined the Salvation Army, Te Rūnanga Whakawhanaunga i ngā Hāhi o Aotearoa, and the New Zealand Council of Christian Social Services to present a policy call to the New Zealand government and oppposition leaders.
The church leaders, including Archbishop Justin Duckworth on behalf of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa New Zealand and Polynesia, presented a three-point call commending policies and programs that honor New Zealand’s founding document Te Tiriti, also known as the Treaty of Waitangi; uplift New Zealanders who are struggling and prioritize planetary health.
Duckworth was pleased to front up on these critical issues with his ecumenical peers. “When the church speaks with one voice on justice and partnership, it’s a powerful witness” he said following the meeting in Wellington.
Together the church leaders presented a comprehensive paper entitled “A Responsibility to Place and People: A Faith-Based Call to Honour Te Tiriti, Tangata and Taiao” outlining church work on social and environmental concerns, evidence of the impact of current policies, and urging political leaders to craft better economic and social policies centred on just and fair responses to their three areas of growing concern.
1. Te Tiriti and governance
The church leaders asked both government and opposition leaders to:
– Ensure future laws uphold Te Tiriti o Waitangi, guided by the Waitangi Tribunal.
– Direct government departments to embed Māori codesign to improve equity and relevance of programs and services affecting Māori.
– Ensure government reflects Māori aspirations by embedding Māori leadership in both operations and governance.
Duckworth said he was pleased to see the whole church stand up for positive Māori-Pākehā working relationships and shared governance honoring the covenantal vision of Te Tiriti. “It was a privilege to stand alongside my brothers and sisters from across the church, united in affirming the sacredness of Te Tiriti,” he said.
2. Housing, pay equity and disability action
Church leaders highlighted concerns identified by Christian social service agencies that work with some of Aotearoa’s most vulnerable people.
Church leaders pointed to major increases in acute homelessness (such as the recent 90% rise in rough sleeping in Auckland) and shared evidence that benefit sanctions and harsh government policies are causing homelessness and sinking more whānau, or family groups, into financial crisis.
The church leaders noted that income inequality is on the rise and reported that as the gap widens, government funding cuts are undermining the work of community social services to offer appropriate care.
Duckworth was pleased to have the Wellington-based Family Centre and New Zealand Council of Christian Social Services social policy experts undergirding the churches’ advocacy work with evidence-based research. “It was great to attend with Charles Waldegrave from the Child Poverty Action Group and to thank the Council for Christian Social Services for pulling this together and for their ongoing mahi on behalf of the most vulnerable,” Duckworth said.
The church leaders encouraged politicians to respond to the issues they raised with concrete actions, urging them to:
– Expand criteria for emergency housing to house all in need.
– Enable social housing and Papakainga housing.
– Establish large-scale shared-equity home ownership plans.
– Actively support pay equity for female-majority professions.
– Prioritise iwi and hapu-led services.
– Implement the “Enabling Good Lives” strategy with the disability community.
3. Taiao Kaitiakitanga/Care for Creation
Duckworth joined church leaders to call for a slate of three environmental policy shifts aimed at helping Aotearoa New Zealanders mitigate climate damage. They urged politicians to:
– Expand the scope and capacity of environmental data collection in Aotearoa.
– Reform the emissions trading system to attain real reductions that are fairly shared.
– Provide incentives to help New Zealanders adopt more environmentally sustainable practices.