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- Date published:
11:20 am, July 24th, 2025 - 11 comments
Categories: housing, national, poverty, same old national, Social issues, spin -
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For some time now National has been crowing about how they have solved the emergency housing problem in Aotearoa.
For instance on 16 June this year they released this press release which made the following claim:
Minister Potaka said the Government had already achieved its target of reducing the number of households in Emergency Housing by 75 per cent by 2030 and now needed to maintain progress. Since November 2023 to April 2025, households in emergency housing have dropped from 3,342 to 516– that’s a drop of 84.5 percent.
“And importantly, there are now significantly fewer children in emergency housing. In April 2024, there were 3,186 children in emergency housing, and a year later we’re down to 519.
“The focus on supporting whānau with tamariki into better stable homes could mean a world of difference for their health, school attendance, and regular employment.
Get that? National has reduced the number of households in emergency housing by 75%. Surely this means that these people had been placed in more permanent housing and not something else, like, and hear me out on this, being chucked out on the street?
Claiming you had solved an emergency housing crisis by making people homeless does not seem like a very good way to solve the problem. And clearly the number of rough sleepers has increased dramatically over the past 12 months.
But National and in particular Tama Potaka have refused to accept that that National has caused the explosion in homeless numbers.
Even last weekend Potaka was spinning the reality as much as he could.
Faced with the undeniable reality of what is happening Potaka has morphed from “we have solved homelessness” to “homelessness is complex and there are a number of different causes”.
The report he referred to, the latest Homelessness insights report has now been released.
The report concludes that homelessness has increased by a rate greater than population growth. In a footnote it concedes that the actual number may be higher as undercounting is likely to affect all categories of severe housing deprivation.
The report notes concerns expressed by the housing sector about increasing levels of hopelessness, alongside increases in clients with complex needs due to methamphetamine use, anti-social behaviour and severe mental health concerns.
In March 2025 32% applications for emergency housing were declined. This figure was 4 percent in March 2024. 22.5% of these declines were because “the applicant’s circumstances could have been reasonably foreseen” which includes “where the household is determined to have contributed to their emergency housing need”. Essentially where a poor person contributes to their need by not paying rent this Government’s rationale is they should lose any right to seek emergency housing.
This graph from the report shows how the level of cruelty has been increased during the term of this Government. Applications are down, people are giving up, and of those who do apply more and more are being refused.
The increase in homelessness is terribly visible. As an example Auckland City Mission’s outreach team is in regular contact with 129 people living on the street. A year ago the number was 40.
For the Government to celebrate a policy that is causing real hardship to the poorest and most marginalised amongst us is unforgiveable.
Shame on them.
If you want us to return the country to a more compassionate state, one that ensures that each of us have somewhere to live, food to eat, clothing to wear and something to hope for then vote them out.
Kill the ugly and the world becomes more beautiful.
Not that Christopher or his Bishop thought that, but not spending money (on houses) meant more money.
The CoC is govt by the sorted for the sorted – homelessness is a 'bottom feeder' problem.
IMO Potaka comes across as a really slimy person, adept at dodging all accountability!
Of course, if you need a fully taxpayer subsided roof over your head, there are beds going here (for now).
https://newsroom.co.nz/2025/05/26/new-waikeria-prison-will-be-quickly-filled-as-prison-muster-hits-record-high/
When those nice sorted people can no longer stand to be offended by the sight of the homeless, it will be declared a criminal offence worthy of penal punishment.
100% Kay.
“No Haka Potaka” is one of the most abject traitor Māori MPs for many years.
Yup one very useful tool for them in housing getting about the place.
Given they have knee capped Kainga Ora's building programme, their only answer is to create more income related (and emegency/transition) housing.
That means buying properties on the market.
I'm waiting for a Coalition member to say that homelessness is good for the economy, after all it's a lifestyle choice — they could have multi-dollar property portfolios and a bach in Hawaii.
I have been officially 'homeless' for coming up on a decade ..
I am not sleeping rough…am warm and dry each nite ..
..I guess no fixed abide would be a more accurate description..
..over these years I have seen people/been around people in desperate straights…and I have always been an easy touch…for bridging finance until dole day..food..water boiling etc…
And in all these years of doing that/what I can ..for my fellow humans/'homeless'…I have never been ripped off…not once..
And to me..that says a lot….
(And of course I derive a measure of satisfaction/something from being known as that easy touch… trying to do good has its own rewards..eh..?)
And that we..as a rich country…have allowed this to happen..sets a new benchmark in a fucken national shame/disgrace..
IMHO…
And it must be time for a union for the homeless..eh..?
Get some organizing/lobbying in behind them…)
We had a couple pet and unit sit 6 months for us when we visited Aus to catch up with my brother and his family in Sydney and Culburra, and our son in Robina Gold Coast and cousins in The Webah on the Sunshine Coast. We did a mix of house and pet sits, visits to relatives and stay puts.
When we arrived back home, the couple shared their mix of grief and joy. A dear friend had died, they had been helping him for a long period of illness.
He had taken them in when their bed and breakfast business went under in the 2008 crash.
Homeless they had been house sitting and took our house sit as that was only an hour away.
The last visit over, they arrived to no-one home. They called, and the mobile was answered by another friend at Waikato Hospital, with the sad news the mutual friend had died.
As he had no NZ family the friends arranged a simple farewell for him. A month later the couple received a call from a lawyer asking them to come to his office where they were informed they were homeless no more, as their friend had left them his property.
Also he left a lovely letter thanking them for doing lawns gardens, painting repairing and being good company between their house sits.
So yes Phillip, there are lots of homeless pensioners out there doing house sitting, as a way to cope because they have income and skills to offer, but no abode.
Most people help each other, more than expected at times, the wonderful ‘givers’.