- Hon Tama Potaka
Ki te kahore he whakakitenga, ka ngaro te Iwi - without a vision, the people will perish.
The Government has achieved its target to reduce the number of households in emergency housing motels by 75 per cent five years early, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says.
The number of households in emergency housing motels:
- At its peak: 4,983 in November 2021
- December 2023: 3,141
- In December 2024: 591
"Large-scale use of emergency housing was one of the biggest public policy failures in the history of Aotearoa New Zealand. Under the previous government, many thousands of New Zealanders were dumped in motel accommodation for months or even years particularly in places like Hamilton," Mr Potaka says.
"We campaigned on ending this disaster. When we came into office, we set a clear target to reduce the number of households in emergency housing motels by 75 per cent by 2030.
"Today we are proud to announce that this target has been achieved already, five years early. This means thousands of tamariki who were previously consigned with their whānau to grow up in dank motel rooms are now living in better homes. Homes where they have a better opportunity for regular school attendance, to maintain enrolment with local health services, and to enjoy all the other benefits of having a stable home in a community.
"We know that long stays in emergency housing have disproportionately affected Māori. Our Government is firmly committed to improving outcomes for Māori, and our pursuit of this target means that more tamariki Māori will grow up in better living conditions."
The Government has achieved this by:
- Implementing its Priority One policy which bumps families with children to the top of the social housing waiting list once they've been in emergency housing for 12 weeks or more,
- Having a steady supply of social housing becoming available, with the addition of 2650 Kāinga Ora homes to be delivered over the next couple of years,
- A combined effort across agencies to work with people in emergency housing to get them into stable housing including private rental homes.
"While the previous government only knew where about 50 per cent of those leaving emergency housing were going, our Government has done the work to significantly improve on this. As a result, we know that about 80 per cent of those leaving emergency housing have moved to social, transitional, or private housing with some kind of government support such as the Accommodation Supplement.
"Emergency housing will always be available as a last resort for those who need it, and it's important we continue monitoring the availability and use of emergency housing to ensure we stay on target," Mr Potaka says.
"We'll continue to work with community groups, housing providers and local councils to build on these gains making sure housing for all New Zealanders is a key priority. The work we have been doing to get us to this point will continue and we will keep actively monitoring and reporting on the target to ensure gains are sustained.
"Our achievement on this target so far is just the beginning. We now need to sustain this progress over the long-term - to 2030 and beyond - to ensure households continue to thrive in stable affordable homes they can sustain rather than being stuck in emergency housing.
"Although we expect the numbers will continue to move up and down, the progress we have made reflects this Government's commitment to ensuring Kiwis are living in quality housing and are not consigned to motel rooms.
"We're increasing the supply of social housing and investing in more support products and services to get people into stable housing, including private rentals. This is better for whānau in the short and long term than emergency accommodation."
