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December 06, 2024
Māori homelessness crisis due to housing philosophy
Atereano Mateariki
Posted On December 6, 2024
Download AudioAuckland Action Against Poverty spokesperson Brooke Pao-Stanley says rangatahi Māori are disproportionately affected by housing deprivation due to a lack of societal resolution.
On Wednesday, Stats NZ released homelessness estimates from last year’s Census, revealing that over 34,557 Māori are homeless, with one-third of them being tamariki.
Pao-Stanley says this crisis is due to the view of housing in Aotearoa as an investment rather than a human right.
She says constitutional discussions on New Zealand’s future are crucial, noting that the lack of such conversations over the years has left the recommendations from reports like the 1988 Puao Te Ata Tu social welfare report still relevant today.
“Our Māori babies are experiencing violence from the state that people cannot access what they need to keep themselves well, and the recommendations from that report are really simple, to give people what they need to keep themselves well,” says Brooke Pao-Stanley.
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