Inside the urgent race to solve homelessness in Aotearoa
'This is way, way, worse than it’s ever been.'
Mōrena, and welcome to The Bulletin for Monday, November 11.
In today’s edition: A hīkoi from the far north to parliament has just set off, the government plans to introduce a new law before the end of the year that would criminalise stalking, and the country’s prison population has exceeded 10,000 for first time in four years. But first, the latest in Spinoff Cover Story goes inside the race to solve homelessness before its too late.
A close look at a crisis
Our Spinoff Cover Story series continues this morning with a monumental and extensive report from Wellington editor Joel MacManus. Coming in at about 9,000 words, it’s one of the longest pieces we’ve ever published and impossible for me to condense into this morning’s newsletter. So, I really do recommend setting aside some time to read it – or, in a first, listen to it as a podcast.
But this morning, we’re going to take a look at some of what Joel has written about and how the government intends to tackle the issue of homelessness in New Zealand.
‘Hopelessness in our community’
New Zealand’s homelessness crisis isn’t new. And, it has sadly surged in recent years, bolstered by compounding factors like the housing crisis and the cost of living. Murray Edridge, the head of Wellington’s City Mission, recounted to Joel MacManus a meeting with former finance minister Grant Robertson in January 2023. “I haven’t seen this before,” Edridge remembered telling Robertson. “This is way, way, worse than it’s ever been. For the first time, we’re seeing hopelessness in our community.”
In May, reported the Herald’s Thomas Coughlan, a paper by the OECD showed that New Zealand had one of the highest rates of homelessness in the developed world, with more than 2% of the population meeting the definition of homeless. That was the highest population percentage recorded of any country in the developed bloc being measured, although as Coughlan noted, New Zealand’s “broad definition” of homelessness pushed that figure up.
The data problem
Data from the 2023 Census recorded that there were 120 people deemed “roofless or rough sleepers” in Auckland – though social service providers believe that number to be well below the reality. Haehaetu Barrett, the chief executive of Lifewise, said rough sleepers were reticent to engage with the Census despite extensive effort by social providers. Lifewise noted other troubling trends, such as a near doubling of people residing in boarding houses from 1,362 in 2013 to 2,190 in 2023.
In an interview with Stuff’s Newsable podcast, Housing First’s Rami Alrudaini echoed the view that the problems in Auckland – and across the country – were getting worse. “We are seeing people sleeping in cars, we’re seeing families with children in emergency housing and temporary accommodation, and overcrowding. We’re seeing a lot of need.”
It’s not just limited to our biggest centres. In 2022, TVNZ’s Sunday programme delivered an exceptional report on the emergency housing crisis in Rotorua. A growing encampment of rough sleepers has built up at Dunedin’s Kensington Oval, reported the Herald. A recent episode of The Detail podcast revealed the state of homelessness on Waiheke Island, with people forced to live in boats parked up on the water’s edge. The Whanganui Chronicle’s Mike Tweed reported that the local council was attempting to fill “a gap” left by government and address its homeless issue in the city. In short, while New Zealand’s homelessness crisis was once seen as being a big city issue, it’s now anything but.
In his report, Joel MacManus notes that New Zealand is experiencing what other major cities grappled with in decades past – a surging rate of homelessness and questions over the best approach to addressing it. One person on the forefront of that was Dr. Sam Tsemberis, founder of Pathways to Housing in the United States. Tsemberis visited New Zealand in 2015. He told MacManus that at the time of his visit, Los Angeles had 48,000 rough sleepers, while Auckland reportedly had 147. “We can fix this problem. This is of a scale that is totally fixable,” said Tsemberis.
‘Political decisions’
In that same report by Thomas Coughlan, youth advocate Aaron Hendry blamed successive governments for the failure to address homelessness, noting that official data is limited and likely incorrect. “We make political decisions not to support or care for our people or build the services and systems we need to adequately care for our people and our communities suffer as a result. It doesn’t have to be this way.”
The coalition government has already made moves this year to address this, but critics have argued it could make the problem worse. It pledged to refresh the board of Kāinga Ora after a report led by former prime minister Bill English deemed the agency to be financially unsustainable. Housing minister Chris Bishop, however, ruled out a mass state house sell-off. But the government did announce a stricter approach for those accessing emergency housing, making it harder for people to get into – and stay in – social housing. As RNZ’s Lauren Crimp reported, ministers were warned these changes could increase the number of homeless people.
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Hīkoi against Treaty bill leaves on journey to Wellington
A hīkoi from the far north to parliament has just set off, bringing with it a “unified Aotearoa response to the government’s assault on tangata whenua”. As Stuff’s Karanama Ruru reported, the hīkoi, which will arrive in Wellington on November 19, is largely targeted against the government’s Treaty Principles Bill. But organisers said it was also to show the unity of Māori and Tangata Tiriti and for mokopuna to be able to “live their best Māori lives”.
The architect of the treaty bill, Act leader David Seymour, told RNZ he was open to meeting with the organisers of the hīkoi, citing the legitimate right to protest. But, he said, he hoped any opposition to his bill would focus on specific objections to its contents, noting the protesters were “opposed to a range of government policies in relation to the Crown-Māori relationship, but apparently also a number of other policies, including even foreign policy”.
Prime minister Christopher Luxon won’t be in the country this Thursday when the Treaty Principles Bill goes up for first reading, which the Herald’s Claire Trevett argued (paywalled) was unlikely to be a coincidence. “That will suit Luxon no end. He has not liked the bill from the start. He still doesn’t like it. He has put significant time and energy into making it clear that he does not like it.”
More reading:
Police set up operations centre to monitor hikoi to parliament.
The Spinoff’s Ātea editor Liam Rātana shares a poem, “Hīkoi (v.24)”.
Details of planned anti-stalking law revealed
The government plans to introduce a new law before the end of the year that would criminalise stalking, 1News reported last night. The proposed law would carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison for repeated behaviour. A series of possible behaviours will be included, including damaging reputation, recording, or tracking and following or loitering, as well as the use of technology. Additional amendments will be made as part of the law change, including allowing courts to make restraining orders and orders in relation to harmful digital communications when sentencing for the new offence.
Justice minister Paul Goldsmith said there had been “very strong calls” from many thousands of women for a new law, including a 20,000-thousand strong petition, following the 2022 murder of AUT law student Farzana Yaqubi, who had made multiple police complaints about a stalker before she was killed.
Listen: A brand new Behind the Story
Staff writer Gabi Lardies joins editor Madeleine Chapman to discuss the new world of stories about AI, and the frustration when you can’t quite crack the case.
Click and Collect
The government has barred journalist Aaron Smale from attending tomorrow’s abuse in care apology at parliament, taking issue over previous questioning of ministers.
For NZ Herald Premium subscribers, Audrey Young names the 10 opposition MPs performing best so far. (paywalled)
The Defence Force was asked if it could run the government’s military-style boot camps, but argued against the idea by raising numerous concerns.
Two new tunnels have been given the green light in Wellington – but will anything happen to all the traffic lights between them?
Any government investment into Chateau Tongariro would result in a financial loss, according to an official briefing document.
Prison population exceeds 10,000 for first time in four years.
For The Spinoff Essay, David Hill writes on being undeniably, irretrievably old. Joel MacManus has finished his seven-day long commute from Stewart Island to the top of the country. Chelsie Preston Crayford, the star of A Remarkable Place to Die, reflects on her life in TV. Liam Rātana looks at the Māori music scene and explains why we need more Māori music managers. Singer-songwriter Rita Mae shares her perfect weekend playlist.
That’s it for today, thanks for reading. See you back here tomorrow morning.
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What a brilliant long article on homelessness in Wellington and Aotearoa. Thank you so much for this mahi.
An ominous move to ban Aaron Smale from Parliament, however the first thing totalitarian governments do is restrict freedom of the press.
Don't go to sleep now.