Chief Executive's preface
 The Social Report 2005 provides us with a dynamic picture of social wellbeing
in New Zealand . It does this by looking at how social conditions are changing over time and
how different communities are faring. The social report is updated annually
to ensure we have the most up-to-date and relevant information on social wellbeing
in New Zealand .
The social report collects together information from across a wide spectrum of
social policy concerns. The combined picture makes a vital contribution to
the development of integrated social policies that are capable of addressing
the often complex and interrelated causes of social problems.
This year, in response to the needs of the local government sector for
regional information to monitor community outcomes, we have expanded the content
of the report. For the first time, we have collected together significant information
on regional social wellbeing, and I hope that this will help local government
to assess where they are now and how they might plan for the future. This information
will also assist the Ministry of Social Development to better understand how
social conditions vary between communities. This information can be found on
this website.
The high quality of the report and its importance across the social sector
is due to the hard work of many staff from within the Ministry of Social Development
and the ongoing support and advice that we receive from across the government
sector and the wider community.
I commend The Social Report 2005 to you. The report has an important contribution
to make to informed discussion about social policy priorities at both a national
and local level across New Zealand . It will be of great use and interest to a wide range of readers.
Peter Hughes
Chief Executive
Ministry of Social Development
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