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NZ Herald
12-05-2025
- Politics
- NZ Herald
Lifewise Big Sleepout back after six years amid homelessness surge
The event had become known for attracting celebrities, MPs, and business leaders from across the country. Politicians such as Jacinda Ardern, David Seymour, and Chlöe Swarbrick had all taken part in the past. Lifewise chief executive Haehaetu Barrett said the night was a time to experience the life hundreds of Aucklanders face. 'This year we want to be as authentic as we possibly can so you actually sleep rough, you're given your cardboard, and the rest you have to bring in.' The announcement came as Auckland faced an influx in the number of homeless – with some housing advocates blaming it on the Government's harder line on Kāinga Ora tenants for disruptive behaviour and rent arrears. In March, Auckland Council's Community Committee urged the Government to step in after it recorded a 53% increase in the number of people sleeping rough in the city since September. Barrett said the event is needed now more than ever. 'Back in 2014/15 our headcount was under 200, that was in the city, now you're in the thousands.' She said it included rough sleepers who weren't as visible to the public but still accessed the organisation's resources. Barrett hoped the Big Sleepout's return would smash all of its previous records. '$350,000 was our biggest [result]. We're hoping that New Zealand can support us. Our target is to get to that $1 million,' she said. 'We've had 100 [participants] in the past... we're hoping to get double that.' Waitematā local board member Sarah Trotman ONZM said she was 'absolutely delighted' to hear the event was returning. 'It's very easy to forget that people are living some pretty miserable lives out there. 'While you might spend one night having a fairly miserable time sleeping on the concrete, potentially in the rain and with the wind, it's only one night, whereas there are hundreds of people who have a miserable night every night.' Trotman, who'd participated in all nine previous Big Sleepouts and was its top fundraiser, said the event raised awareness, which hadn't been felt since it paused. 'We have lost the attention of Joe and Jane Average on the issue,' she said. 'The issue needs to be front of mind for many Aucklanders – not just those that are working with people who are homeless at the moment.' Jordan Dunn is a multimedia reporter based in Auckland with a focus on crime, social issues, policing and local issues. He joined Newstalk ZB in 2024 from Radio New Zealand, where he started as an intern out of the New Zealand Broadcasting School.
NZ Herald
29-04-2025
- Politics
- NZ Herald
Public housing tenancy terminations soar, advocates link to rising homelessness
Housing advocates have correlated the increase to a rise in homelessness and questioned where the hundreds of tenants were going. In March, Auckland Council's Community Committee urged the Government to step in after it recorded a 53% increase in the number of people sleeping rough in the city since September. Brooke Stanley, the spokesperson for youth homelessness collective Manaaki Rangatahi, said it is clearly caused by the Government's new policies. 'It's so wild to me that these guys can have this type of power to wield in our communities. Where does the Government think these people are going to go?' Kāinga Ora wasn't able to detail what happened to each specific tenant when it terminated their agreement, but said they 'typically find alternative housing with another provider, move in with friends or whānau, or potentially move into transitional accommodation'. Stanley said many evicted tenants don't have those options. 'There is nothing for them. This is going to have an impact on harm that happens within our communities and it's going to have an impact on the numbers that are going into prisons.' The head of the Kick Back youth homelessness initiative, Aaron Hendry, said the Government's stronger line is only exacerbating the problem. 'You're going to take another group of people on the housing list who potentially also have all the same challenges back into housing, and what we're doing is creating a loop where people are coming in and out of the system and we're not actually solving the issue,' he said. Hendry was also sceptical of more than 300 tenancy terminations which didn't have a clear reason. 'There's huge gaps there in terms of [Kāinga Ora's] knowledge around why people are being terminated. We think that's unacceptable. Maybe they have that knowledge but they need to be far more clear around why people are being asked to leave.' Litigation lawyer Adina Thorn said it was an improvement but believed the rate of terminations was a far cry from what was needed. 'I did some rough calculations. I thought the figure that needed to be evicted was 1,000 to 1,500,' she told Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking Breakfast. 'I'm not really talking about anti-social [behaviour], I'm talking about people doing really egregious violent stuff in housing that is threatening to their neighbours.' Advertise with NZME. Housing Minister Chris Bishop said the rising terminations show the Government is maintaining its promises and handing out real consequences to unruly tenants. 'In our view it's not fair to the neighbours of those abusive tenants to have to live in fear, and it's not fair to those on the social housing waitlist who would treat the home with respect,' he said. Bishop said in most cases formal warnings, known as section 55a notices, were effective in getting disruptive tenants to improve their behaviour. 'For the tiny number of people who carry on with their abusive or damaging behaviour, there are real consequences which, in extreme cases, can involve their tenancy being ended.'
