Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka has acknowledged reports of rising homelessness but says it’s “not just down to one thing” as he defends the Government’s tougher rules for emergency housing.
Potaka was grilled on the issue on Q+A, where he conceded the changes to increase scrutiny for emergency housing support applicants have been “reported by many” as contributing to making more people homeless.
When asked directly whether the policy changes had contributed to leaving more people homeless, the minister said: “That’s a very strong view that many people have.”
But Potaka refused to make that connection himself, instead attributing claims of a link to “anecdotal” reports and what others had reported.
“There’s a range of factors that influence [homelessness], and the changes to the emergency housing policy have been reported by many people as being a contributor.”
The Government introduced tougher eligibility for emergency housing last year, including scrutiny of whether people had “unreasonably contributed” to their own housing need.
When interviewer Jack Tame suggested the policy could’ve “put more people on the street”, Potaka said: “Those are the things that we have acknowledged that there are some challenges, and we are responding to those with agility.”
His office later clarified to Q+A this did not mean the Government was actively considering changing emergency housing settings.
Reacting to the minister’s interview, the Greens said he was “refusing to take any accountability” for the outcomes of the harsher policies.
Govt’s policies ‘very, very harsh’, providers tell minister
Speaking to Q+A, the minister confirmed an updated briefing on homelessness from the Housing and Urban Development Ministry had found rough sleeping had increased “in some areas”. He insisted the rises may be down to a range of factors.
Tougher emergency housing rules and two-strike warning policy for tenants has meant more young people on the streets, says charities. (Source: 1News)
Potaka said the latest insights briefing he had received showed “there’s a whole range of potential causes, including that, but a whole range of other things”, such as mental health, addiction, cost of living, and other physical health issues.
“It does recognise, throughout the country, there are community housing providers [and] councils who are saying, hey, there’s a big, big challenge with homelessness.”
Some providers had described the emergency housing policy as “harsh”, Potaka said.
“They report that the emergency housing policy is very, very harsh. That’s what some of the anecdotal reports are saying.”
The associate minister said he would release the homelessness insights report “soon”, but did not provide a specific timeframe. Potaka maintained there were multiple factors behind rising homelessness: “What they’re saying is we’ve got a whole range of causes.”
Labour has been pressuring the Government over the report earlier this week.
The senior minister spoke to Q+A’s Jack Tame. (Source: Q and A)
Housing Minister Chris Bishop denied that homelessness and rough sleeping were rising as a result of the Government’s changes in a Q+A interview in March.
‘Refusing to take responsibility’ – Greens on interview
Reacting to Potaka’s interview, the Greens’ housing spokesperson Tamatha Paul said the Government needed to “admit” that its policy was increasing homelessness.
“This Government has cut back on public housing, slashed emergency housing access, and is refusing to take any accountability or responsibility for the impact this is having on the rising rates of people being forced to live on the streets, in tents and in cars.”
The coalition rolled out changes for emergency housing eligibility in early to mid-last year, including a tougher approach to allowing people into homes in the first place.
People seeking support would face greater scrutiny, more requirements for information, and to prove they hadn’t themselves “contributed” to their needs for emergency housing.
At the time, officials warned the Government that the changes risked putting more people into situations of rough sleeping.
Q+A’s Whena Owen takes a look at changes to emergency housing and public housing policy. (Source: 1News)
“Making these changes ahead of significant increases to the supply of affordable housing and more preventative wraparound supports does create a risk of increased levels of rough sleeping, people living in cars and overcrowding,” they told ministers at the time.
Target met but concerns remain
Potaka defended the policy changes, saying the Government had also met its target to reduce emergency housing numbers by 75%. The policy intended to move people from emergency housing facilities, such as motels, to more stable housing.
“We set up a target. That target was to reduce the number of whānau and households living in emergency housing. We’ve reached the target, but we’ve also recognised there are still some challenges and some issues,” he said.
The associate minister said tracking of people leaving emergency housing had improved, with the Government now knowing where “85-86%” of people went.
“When we came into administration, the teams knew where around 50% of people were going. Now we know that there is about 85-86% of where people are going. In my view, that’s actually good progress,” he said.
Govt not actively considering changes to tougher rules
In a subsequent statement, the associate minister clarified to Q+A that this did not mean changes were coming to the Government’s policy on emergency housing.
“Emergency housing remains available for those in genuine need, and the causes of homelessness are not just about housing,” a spokesperson for Potaka said.
“A long-term response to the complexities requires consideration across multiple portfolios, for example helping people to face physical or mental health and addictions challenges, they might need help learning financial skills like budgeting, or help connecting and working with support services.
“In the housing portfolio, $500 million in funding goes into programmes to help people, for example through the Housing First programme.
“To help increase the amount of affordable housing, Budget 2024 allocated $140 million for 1500 new social housing places to be operated by community housing providers.
“The Government has also accelerated $200 million into Māori housing projects across the country that will enable the delivery of 400 affordable rentals in high-need areas.”
In his Q+A interview, Potaka was also questioned about his conservation portfolio and how changes to smoking laws would affect Māori.
For the full interview, watch the video above
Q+A with Jack Tame is made with the support of New Zealand On Air
