Addiction's $9 Billion Question Ahead Of The Election

Dr Bonnie Robinson of the Salvation Army discusses addiction and rehabilitation as an election issue, noting that addiction-related harm costs New Zealand around $9 billion a year across health, justice and social services. She argues this is a public health issue rather than a matter of individual blame, and links it to flow-on effects such as homelessness, warning that policies like "move-on" orders fail because they ignore the root causes of rough sleeping.

Dr Robinson calls for a mix of residential and day-based recovery programmes tailored to individuals' different paths into addiction, greater investment in prevention, and tighter controls on alcohol outlet density and meth supply in vulnerable communities. She urges voters to question political parties on their addiction policies and be wary of simplistic "just do this" solutions to what she describes as a complex mix of personal choice, circumstance and societal failure ([www.salvationarmy.org.nz](https://www.salvationarmy.org.nz)).

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