The Housing Minister says he doesn’t believe tightened eligibility rules for emergency housing have led to more homelessness, despite reports the move has led to a rise in rough sleeping.
Fewer numbers of people living in emergency housing have been touted as a success by the Government, but some organisations say it has come as a result of pushing people onto the streets instead of improving people’s permanent living situations.
Speaking to Q+A, Minister Chris Bishop said he didn’t believe the Government’s changes to emergency housing eligibility had raised homelessness levels.
He said: “It has made the system clearer for everybody to understand. There will always be a need for emergency housing. We want to make that really clear.
“For people who need emergency housing, it will always be there.”
When asked, the Housing Minister said his assessment that homelessness hadn’t risen was based on anecdotal reports of “what I see and hear around the place”.
He added that there were few substantive measures of rough sleeping: “There is no government measure that measures homelessness. The ones we have are proxies.”
Tougher emergency housing rules and two-strike warning policy for tenants has meant more young people on the streets, says charities. (Source: 1News)
But Auckland Council highlighted its own data earlier this month, which suggested the number of people known to its staff to be “sleeping in cars, streets and local parks” rose by 53% between September and January.
There was additionally an unknown number of people who were transient and mobile.
Last month, the Salvation Army’s State of the Nation report also identified tightened emergency housing criteria as “a key contributor to rising street homelessness”.
Minister adamant housing available for all
But Bishop was adamant that people who needed housing were receiving it.
“When people are in those situations, they should talk to MSD (Ministry of Social Development) and there will be housing support available for them. We spend tens of millions every month,” he said.
“There is always support available for people who are sleeping on the streets, who are sleeping rough, who are sleeping in cars.
“The Government will always provide support for those people.”
When pressed on where those deemed ineligible for emergency housing went, the Housing Minister responded, “we don’t have trackers on everyone”.
Q+A’s Whena Owen takes a look at changes to emergency housing and public housing policy. (Source: 1News)
The Government 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.
“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.
Meanwhile, Labour’s social development spokesperson Carmel Sepuloni said last month: “Homelessness is on the rise as the Government kicks families out of emergency housing without knowing where they all go.”
But speaking to Q+A, Bishop said he wasn’t “pretending everything was perfect” but that the Government’s changes were a success and that “we’re very proud of it”.
He said: “Emergency housing as it was before, which was essentially a free-for-all all, was a disaster. We have made it harder to get in, but we have also made it easier to get out, which is why we can point to the signs of success.”
As part of the Government’s changes, a new prioritisation system moved families with dependent children in emergency housing to the top of the social housing waitlist if they had been waiting for longer than 12 weeks.
“We’re very proud of it. There are thousands of children who were living in dank, squalid motels, who are now living in warm and dry social houses, whether they be transitional or social houses or private rentals.”
Q+A with Jack Tame is made with the support of New Zealand On Air
