The Diocese of Waikato and Taranaki has decided to highlight income inequality by supporting the living wage principle. 

In his address to the Diocesan Dynod in Hamilton at the weekend, Archbishop Philip Richardson challenged delegates to be individually and collectively passionate advocates for the Common Good of society.

Noting that the gap between rich and poor in Aotearoa New Zealand was now the widest since records began in the 1980s, Archbishop Philip summed up income inequality as the unequal distribution of incomes across the various participants in an economy.

"The gap in income means basic necessities are occasional luxuries for many people and this creates problems in the lowest income households," he said.

"The church in mission is not called to palliative care but to intervene so that societies and every human being may flourish."

Synod agreed one way to intervene was to support the living wage principle itself.

Synod also decided to divest from companies whose primary business is the extraction or production of fossil fuels.

Part of the debate focused on the need for individuals to examine how their everyday lives impacted on the environment as a starting point.

The decision to divest over three years was passed with a 10% majority.