'Sense of betrayal' - day one of pay equity hearings
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RNZ News
an hour ago
- RNZ News
New Zealand 'can't talk about homelessness without tackling poverty', advocate says
In Aotearoa, a Pacific advocate for youth homelessness says the country must address poverty and systemic inequities to fix the housing affordability crisis. Research from the Salvation Army last month showed one in 1000 people in the country are without shelter. Youth were reportedly disproportionately affected. Overall, Pasefika communities were also over-represented in the country's hardship figures. For example, the latest government figures showed the Pacific unemployment rate was 12.1 percent - more than double the national average. Brooke Stanley, of youth homelessness collective Manaaki Rangatahi, told Pacific Waves "successive government choices and policies" had failed to prioritise people's housing needs. That had led to rising homelessness, she said. "I think that those policy choices and decisions are actually underpinned by a certain set of values that don't recognise housing as being a human right," Stanley said. "We're looking at a politics of ego, of competition, of division, of greed and profit." Stanley also said the current government's policies were making things worse, and Pasefika communities were bearing the brunt of it. High rents, lack of public housing and affordable housing, as well as socio-economic status all contributed to Pasefika being disproportionately affected by the housing affordability crisis. Tougher rules from Kāinga Ora - the government's public housing agency - also painted a bleak picture. For example, in Manurewa and Porirua, Pacific families were reportedly being kicked out of public housing at disproportionate rates. The pattern was identified in tenancy enforcement data by PMN . In Manurewa, Pacific families represented about half of the agency's tenants, but made up three-quarters of enforcement action. In Porirua, Pacific people represented about the same proportion of Kāinga Ora tenants but made up two-thirds of enforcement action. Enforcement action included tenancy terminations. Kāinga Ora has previously said it applied its policies in "a fair and consistent way in communities around the country." Kāinga Ora spokesperson Nick Maling said the decision to end a tenancy was never made lightly, especially when children and young people were involved. Associate Minister for Housing Tama Potaka has said the government is working to address homelessness. "There's a number of things that this government is doing, whether or not it's the build program - making sure we build another 500 social homes in Auckland, Māori housing, Kainga Ora… resetting the housing system," he told Morning Report in July . He has also said that rebuilding the economy to create more jobs and get people into work is part of the government's solution to homelessness. Stanley believed New Zealand's policymakers needed to shift their approach to housing and homelessness completely. "We can't talk about ending homelessness unless we also talk about ending poverty," she said. "I think we need to look at the different contributing factors… [and the] the structural inequities that also contribute to homelessness. "I think it's really important that our leaders just not only talk about these things, but also have the actions and policies that reflect those values." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
4 hours ago
- RNZ News
Here's what was in Winston Peters' letter to UN Rapporteur on Indigenous Rights
Winston Peters sent the letter in his capacity as Foreign Minister. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii Foreign Minister Winston Peters' response to a UN official raising concerns about the government's approach is far milder than the one initially sent by ACT leader David Seymour. Seymour was rebuked by Peters and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon after writing back to the Geneva-based UN Rapporteur on Indigenous Rights Dr Albert K Barume, who raised concerns about the Regulatory Standards Bill. His letter, in his capacity as Regulations Minister, said Barume's views on the government's agenda were wrong and an affront to New Zealand's sovereignty, and Barume's letter itself was "presumptive, condescending and wholly misplaced". Peters and Luxon at the time said the Foreign Minister - who the letter was addressed to - was the appropriate person to send New Zealand's official response. While Luxon said he "fully agreed" with the contents of Seymour's message, Peters rejected Seymour's suggestion his official response would "make the same points". That official response , published on Monday night with a handful of redactions by the UN, said New Zealand "deeply regret this breakdown in protocol and appreciate the opportunity to put the record straight". It said the Regulatory Standards Bill was "a result of a Coalition Agreement between two of the three political parties that currently comprise the New Zealand Government", and was "intended to reduce the amount of unnecessary and poor-quality legislation". David Seymour was rebuked by Peters and Christopher Luxon. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii The letter also pointed out the bill was being considered by a select committee. "As a mature democracy, New Zealand has well established systems for developing legislation in a way that takes account of a wide range of interests." It said New Zealand "honours the undertakings that the Crown has made through past Treaty of Waitangi settlements and continues to address historical Treaty grievance claims", pointing to 101 such claims having been signed by iwi, hapū and the Crown. An appendix to the letter also provided further information about "relevant constitutional provisions", pointing out that "all legislative proposals that are submitted to the New Zealand Cabinet must consider the human rights and Treaty of Waitangi implications of the proposal". A second appendix on the Regulatory Standards Bill set out the bill's purpose, and how it aimed to achieve that - providing a straightforward explanation of how the bill would work, with links to public consultation and other publicly available information, noting it would not constrain Parliament's ability to make laws. It also noted "nothing in the bill will prevent any additional principles from being considered in the process of lawmaking, or in the review of existing law", and stated the absence of the Treaty of Waitangi from the bill "reflects a decision to focus on a discrete set of goals, including promoting the accountability of the Executive to Parliament". RNZ has sought comment from David Seymour.
RNZ News
6 hours ago
- RNZ News
The Pre-Panel for 11 August 2025
sport politics 3:50 pm today Jesse Mulligan is joined by The Panel host Wallace Chapman and producer Tessa Guest to preview this evening's marlarky.
