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February 27, 2026
#national: Tania Waikato: Move-On Laws Under Fire as Māori Tamariki Bear the Brunt of Rising Poverty
Dale Husband
Posted On February 27, 2026
Download AudioConcerns are mounting over the Government’s proposed move-on legislation targeting people experiencing homelessness, as new poverty statistics show Māori, Pacific and disabled tamariki continue to face disproportionately high levels of hardship.
Tania Waikato says the debate around public order and homelessness cannot be separated from the broader reality of worsening poverty indicators for Māori communities. She argues that enforcement-focused approaches risk criminalising visible poverty while failing to address the systemic drivers pushing whānau into housing insecurity in the first place.
The latest data confirms that poverty rates remain significantly higher for tamariki Māori, Pacific children and children living with disabilities. Material hardship measures show many families are going without essentials such as stable housing, adequate heating and sufficient kai. For Waikato, those outcomes reflect policy settings rather than inevitability.
She says when poverty statistics consistently show inequities year after year, it raises questions about whether those outcomes are the result of political decisions. Budget priorities, income support levels, housing supply, disability funding and access to culturally responsive services all sit within the control of central government. If disparities persist, she argues, then it is reasonable to examine whether enough has been done to change them.
The proposed move-on powers would allow authorities to direct homeless individuals to leave certain public spaces. Supporters say the measures are about safety and community standards. Critics counter that without adequate housing pathways, such powers merely shift people from one location to another without resolving the underlying crisis.
Waikato believes the risk is that homelessness becomes framed as a behavioural issue rather than a structural one. She points to rising rents, limited social housing stock, stagnant incomes at the lower end of the labour market and barriers facing disabled whānau as key contributors to the growing number of people living in unstable conditions.
For Māori communities in particular, the overrepresentation in poverty and homelessness statistics is tied to intergenerational inequity, lower rates of home ownership and persistent income gaps. Pacific families face similar pressures, often compounded by overcrowded housing and insecure employment. Disabled tamariki and their caregivers frequently encounter higher living costs and gaps in support.
Waikato says any meaningful response must prioritise prevention. That includes lifting income supports to reflect real living costs, accelerating public and community housing builds, expanding disability assistance and backing Māori-led housing initiatives grounded in kaupapa Māori approaches.
She warns that enforcement tools introduced without parallel investment in housing and income security risk deepening distrust between vulnerable communities and the state. Addressing visible homelessness without reducing child poverty and family hardship, she says, amounts to treating symptoms while leaving causes untouched.
As poverty data continues to highlight entrenched inequities, the conversation is shifting beyond statistics to accountability. For many advocates, the central question is no longer whether the disparities exist, but whether the policy choices being made are sufficient to change them.
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