Aaron Hendry | “Open Letter” Demands Housing Justice for Unhoused Whānau in Auckland

Dale Husband Aaron Hendry | Co-founder and General Manager of Kick Back

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“Open Letter” Demands Housing Justice for Unhoused Whānau in Auckland

Tāmaki Makaurau / 26 November 2025 – As homelessness in Auckland surges, community groups, frontline agencies and iwi-aligned advocates have delivered a powerful “open letter” to central government – calling for urgent action to protect the rights of unhoused whānau rather than criminalise their existence on the streets.

A Growing Crisis, and a Cry for Compassion

The open letter, addressed to senior Ministers including the Prime Minister, Housing and Social Development, lays bare the deepening housing crisis in Tāmaki Makaurau. Advocates point to a steep rise in rough sleeping : latest official monitoring shows around 800 people sleeping rough in Auckland, a sharp increase since 2024.

They argue these numbers are not the result of choice, but of policy decisions that have dismantled or restricted access to emergency housing, and cancelled or delayed vital public housing developments.

The letter highlights that many whānau – Māori, Pasifika, and vulnerable communities – are forced into the streets due to systemic issues: a lack of affordable housing, cuts to emergency housing support, and weakened tenant protections.

Rejecting Criminalisation, Demanding Homes

Critical to the letter’s message is a firm rejection of recent proposals to grant police expanded “move-on” powers in the city centre – a measure which many advocates warn would simply drive homeless rangatahi and whānau into more dangerous, hidden spaces.

“Criminalising homelessness will only push our whānau further into the shadows,” writes the letter. “We need safe, stable housing – not bans.”

Instead, signatories call for:

• Immediate reinstatement and expansion of emergency housing services so that people are not turned away when they need shelter most.

• Large-scale public and social housing development, particularly in town and city centres where services and support networks are accessible.

• Strong wrap-around support – mental health, addiction services, tenancy support, and kaupapa-Māori / iwi-led housing initiatives – so that once sheltered, whānau can rebuild their lives with dignity.

From a Māori worldview, the letter frames housing not as a commodity, but as a basic human right-and a foundation for whānau wellbeing. Unhoused children, the elderly, wahine, and rangatahi – disproportionately Māori or Pasifika – are bearing the brunt of policy failures.

One advocate quoted in the open letter affirms: “People without shelter are not a problem to be moved on – they are whānau to be supported.” The call is for housing justice rooted in aroha, manaakitanga and collective responsibility, aligned with the spirit of whanaungatanga.

The open letter demands transparency: the Government must share data on how many people have been evicted, denied emergency housing, or left without options; and must commit to rebuilding a compassionate, effective housing response.

Advocates say the halk-up in homelessness is not an accident – it is the outcome of decisions to roll back housing supports, scale down public housing construction, and prioritise cost-cutting over human dignity.

In the coming weeks, whānau groups and community agencies are expected to follow up with meetings, public hui and advocacy campaigns – pushing for real change, not just rhetoric.

As one Māori housing provider said: the measure of a society is how it treats its most vulnerable. For Auckland, 2025 is shaping up as a defining moment – will we build homes or build walls?

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