1-on-1 in 10: Salvation Army’s Dr Bonnie Robinson on NZ Poverty Crisis

This week on The Bradbury Group, Salvation Army Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit Director Dr Bonnie Robinson joins Martyn Bradbury for a sobering 1-on-1 in 10 following the release of the Salvation Army’s State of the Nation Report.

*The numbers are grim.*

• 43,500 people in severe housing deprivation
• 156,000+ children living in material hardship
• 90,250 food parcels distributed last year (up 7%)
• Māori unemployment at double the national rate
• Pacific unemployment at 12.3%
• Domestic violence rising

Dr Robinson explains what the statistics really mean for families on the ground — and why the reality may be worse than official data suggests.

This interview covers:
– The hidden homelessness crisis
– Welfare sanctions and child poverty
– Why poverty is not simply “personal responsibility”
– The long-term trauma of growing up poor
– Why inequality harms everyone
– Prison reintegration failures
– What urgent action must look like ahead of Election 2026

Behind every statistic is a child, a whānau, a story.
This is not political rhetoric — this is frontline evidence.