Homelessness remains a significant issue in Aotearoa New Zealand

Homelessness and access to healthy, secure and affordable housing are systemic challenges faced by whānau and families, communities and policy makers in Aotearoa New Zealand. In 2018, 101,123 people were identified as severely housing-deprived, nearly two percent of the total population, and Māori were disproportionately represented (Amore, et al., 2021). Housing policies over decades have not met the needs of Māori. Māori have disproportionately low home ownership rates (28 percent compared to 57 percent for the general population), high rates of public housing tenancies (36 percent of public housing tenants were Māori, despite Māori comprising just under 15 percent of the general population), and five times more likely than Pākehā to be homeless (Office of the Associate Minister of Housing, n.d). In addition, housing and economic policies have contributed to Māori displacement and alienation from turangawaewae, which in turn has disrupted whānau connectedness and the continuation of cultural norms (Durie, 2019).

 

Despite a range of government initiatives to address homelessness and housing, the challenges were exacerbated through the Covid-19 pandemic. House prices and rents continued to rise nationally, and new builds were delayed due to limited labour and building supplies. As a result, the pathway from emergency and transitional housing to more sustainable housing options for whānau became congested and supply struggled to keep up with demand (Office of the Associate Minister of Housing, n.d).

For Māori, homelessness and housing insecurity is anchored in the enduring effects of colonisation and historical trauma

A small kaupapa Māori research study undertaken by Lawson-Te Aho et al. (2019) indicated that Māori homelessness is firmly anchored in colonisation and the rapid alienation of Māori land, destruction of a Māori economic base, demise of Māori worldviews and oppression of Māori during the colonial period of New Zealand history and beyond (p.6). The ongoing effects of colonisation have contributed to the poor health, educational and economic outcomes often experienced through
generations. Transformative solutions for homelessness for Māori therefore need to sit within a paradigm that is Māori/iwi-led, whānau-centred, holistic and integrated, and founded on te ao Māori values.

This report is summarised in a news article, here.