Over the last week public concern at the plight of many of New Zealand's homeless galvanised many in Auckland to come together for one evening to experience what hundreds of rough sleepers endure every night. An army of empathy, up to 1000 strong, they shared jokes and hot chocolates at the Mangere Town Centre in South Auckland, where homelessness is reaching a crisis point.
The Prime Minister John Key says the government's relocation grant for Aucklanders in social housing enables them to move somewhere that 'suits their lifestyle'. But David Zussman from CHA talks about the demand for community housing in Auckland.
Last month the Auckland Rough Sleepers Initiative conducted its 10th street count and found numbers have increased.
In this article macro-economist, Shamubeel Eaqub, talks about the role of local authorities in the provision of social housing.
The Minister for Social Housing recently announced $41.1 million over four years for emergency housing. This will mean emergency housing provision will be funded in a different way.
At least one in every 100 New Zealanders were homeless at the latest census in 2013, compared with 1 in 120 in 2006, and 1 in 130 in 2001, say University of Otago, Wellington (UOW) researchers.
Prime Minister John Key's suggestion that Auckland Council could be forced to free up more land for housing whenever homes became unaffordable in the city is already being criticised as misguided and unlikely to help the city's housing woes.
The Government has put on hold the sale of Housing New Zealand homes in Invercargill after PACT pulls out of the process.
Te Puea Marae in Mangere started taking in the homeless last week and so far has found homes for four of the 45 families who have sought help.
Community Housing Aotearoa Chief Executive Scott Figenshow says there is some good news in the budget but the Government has not gone far enough to deliver coordinated solutions that work.
