Source: Hapai Te Hauora
Aotearoa cannot enforce its way out of homelessness.
The Government’s proposed changes to the Summary Offences Act would expand Police powers to issue move-on orders requiring people to leave a public space for up to 24 hours. These powers would apply to rough sleeping, begging and behaviour deemed disorderly, including for young people aged 14 and over.
At Hāpai Te Hauora, we are concerned that this approach focuses on visibility rather than cause.
“Using move-on orders may reduce what is seen in parts of the CBD, but it does not reduce homelessness,” says Jason Alexander, Chief Operating Officer at Hāpai Te Hauora.
“It shifts the problem without addressing why people are there in the first place.”
The real question: Why are people becoming homeless?
People do not become homeless overnight.
Homelessness is driven by housing shortages, rising rents, income insecurity, family violence, unmet mental health needs and long-standing structural inequities. It is the visible outcome of deeper instability.
In the past year, homelessness in Auckland has more than doubled. At the same time, one in seven tamariki in Aotearoa are living in material hardship.
These realities are connected.
When families are forced to choose between rent and food, when incomes fail to meet living costs, and when housing supply cannot meet demand, homelessness increases. Moving people away from a particular location does not change those conditions.
It may change what is visible in parts of the city. But it does not address the causes.
Māori are significantly overrepresented in homelessness statistics in Aotearoa.
While Māori make up around 17 percent of the population, they account for roughly 31 percent of people experiencing severe housing deprivation.
That disparity does not happen by accident.
It reflects uneven access to stable housing, income security and rental opportunities. Māori households are more likely to experience overcrowding and insecure housing, and research has also identified discrimination in the rental market, where applicants with Māori-identifying names receive fewer responses from landlords.
When housing becomes scarce and expensive, those already facing these barriers are the first to feel the pressure.
Jacqui Harema, Chief Executive of Hāpai Te Hauora, says the statistics point to deeper structural issues.
“When Māori are consistently overrepresented in homelessness statistics, it tells us the housing system is not delivering equitable outcomes,” she says.
“The response needs to focus on the drivers of homelessness.”
Housing is widely recognised as a fundamental human right. When Māori experience homelessness at disproportionate rates, it signals a system that is not working fairly for everyone.
Forcibly removing people experiencing homelessness, many of whom are Māori, to present a more curated image of the CBD raises important questions about whose wellbeing is prioritised. It also reinforces the historical pattern of contempt for the partnership embodied by Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Move-on orders may change what is visible in certain areas. But they do not:
- Provide housing
- Increase income
- Connect people to care
- Reduce trauma
- Prevent future homelessness
They displace people who are already vulnerable.
Homelessness is not a public nuisance to be managed. It is a public health issue to be addressed.
Public safety and public wellbeing are not competing goals. Communities are safer when whānau are housed, supported and connected. Stability reduces harm. Visibility alone does not create it.
These proposed changes have not yet progressed into law. But the framing of homelessness as something to be moved along rather than resolved has consequences.
When policy focuses on appearances rather than underlying drivers, it risks deepening instability for those already at risk.
“We should be asking what is pushing people into homelessness, not how quickly we can move them away from view,” says Alexander.
“Real progress comes from addressing causes, not symptoms.”
At Hāpai Te Hauora, we believe homelessness is not the problem itself, but a signal that our housing and income systems are failing whānau.
Moving people out of sight is not a solution.
We will continue to advocate for responses that address the root causes of homelessness and reduce harm, particularly for Māori and other communities disproportionately affected.
When whānau have stability, our entire community thrives.
