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RNZ News
12-05-2025
- General
- RNZ News
Dunedin homeless camp: 'Clearly not safe or healthy conditions'
The homeless camp at The Oval in central Dunedin. Photo: RNZ / Tess Brunton Conditions at a Dunedin homeless camp where a fire tore through tents are unsafe, the Ministry of Housing says. Paramedics treated one person with minor injuries after the blaze broke out at The Oval near Ardmore Drive on Friday, but Dunedin mayor Jules Radich said it was lucky no-one was seriously injured or killed. Ministry of Housing and Urban Development southern regional director Sue Rissman said they were very concerned about the fire. "These are clearly not safe or healthy conditions to live in," she said. She urged anyone sleeping rough to contact ministry staff for support, but noted people had the right to choose whether they asked for help. "Emergency housing is a last resort. If someone who applies is eligible for a different and more suitable type of support, we will provide that instead," she said. "If they have another housing option available, we expect them to take it." Most people who applied for emergency housing received some form of support like a supplement, grants, or a place with a transitional housing provider, she said. She said the ministry was regularly speaking to the council and other government agencies about the Dunedin homeless camp. The fire that broke out at the camp. Photo: Supplied On Friday, Radich called for government funding to help tackle homelessness in the city. "Winter is coming and with it the cold temperatures that will only make a bad situation worse for our homeless community," he said. He had previously proposed using the vacant Aaron Lodge site - owned by Kāinga Ora - as an accommodation hub. "Regrettably that proposal has not been supported by government agencies," he said. "In the absence of wrap-around government action, various local social service organisations have been left to do what they can, working alongside the Dunedin City Council and other partners, to offer support for our homeless community. "The real solution here is government funding for suitable facilities that enable appropriate support services to meet a variety of needs, like we envisaged at Aaron Lodge. "The local social agencies are ready to step up, but we need a site and we need government support." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
08-05-2025
- General
- RNZ News
Fire breaks out at Dunedin homeless camp
A fire has ripped through a homeless camp in Dunedin. Fire and Emergency (FENZ) received multiple calls from the public about the blaze at The Oval, near Ardmore Drive, shortly before 8am. Multiple tents caught fire, but paramedics only treated one person in a minor condition. FENZ said the fire generated a lot of smoke, and crews had to spend time cooling down propane tanks at the site. Dunedin Mayor Jules Radich said he drove straight to The Oval after hearing about the fire, which seemed to have started with pellets and spread to two nearby trees. "Luckily, there was no tragedy. Someone easily could have been trapped or caught up and severely hurt by a fire such as this." A fire at a homeless camp in Dunedin, 9 May 2025. Photo: Supplied Radich said people had been camping at The Oval for a number of years , despite efforts from social services to rehouse them. "There is continual turnover, but for some reason, you know, it's a reasonably convenient site close to the centre of town, so people keep coming there and camping." He said council staff talked to the group on a regular basis, but the camp was "certainly not ideal from a council point of view, because of the proximity of young people playing sport". "I'm certainly interested in discussing it further with the people who have the ability and the funding to be able to do something about it." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
