Human Rights Foundation review will provide a critical update on housing rights in Aotearoa

We are concerned that recent Government decisions have the effect of setting back progress to realise everyone’s right to housing," says Human Rights Foundation Chairperson Aaron Packard.  

The review will evaluate progress on the right to housing and cover key housing decisions made by government agencies and ministers over the past three years, with the report due in late July. 

"Having a decent home supports individual dignity and is key to a flourishing society.

"Yet, the Government announced it will increase housing costs for people in public housing, many of whom are already at or near the poverty line. Meanwhile, policy changes mean that the State now evicts people into homelessness,” says Packard. 

In another recent decision Kāinga Ora has removed its target of building 15% of all new public homes to universal accessibility standards. 

"Scrapping this target ignores the fact that only about 2% of homes in Aotearoa are accessible. This has a profoundly negative impact on the disabled community who are in urgent need of affordable, accessible homes,” he said. 

The Government has obligations in international law to provide adequate housing. These retrogressive policies directly breach these obligations. 

Te Tiriti o Waitangi upholds the right to a decent home 

The Foundation says the right to housing must also be grounded in the context of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. 

"Te Tiriti o Waitangi reaffirms and guarantees Māori tino rangatiratanga over kāinga and whenua,” says Packard. 

However, in the decades following the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the Crown dispossessed Māori from whenua and homes, the effects of which are still reflected in the over-representation of Māori living with homelessness.  

"Despite the impact of colonisation, there are some fantastic developments in Māori housing, primarily led by iwi, hapū and kaupapa Māori housing organisations, reflecting a tino rangatiratanga approach to housing," says Packard. 

The Government has an active obligation to adequately resource and support such work. 

A "prima facie" violation of human rights 

The Foundation warns international law prohibits "deliberately retrogressive" measures. Under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, any government action that decreases the public’s enjoyment of their rights is presumed to be a prima facie (at face value) violation. 

"Governments cannot simply roll back human rights without consequence," says Packard. "To justify such backward steps, the state must prove they were a last resort, implemented only after careful consideration of all alternatives and available resources.  

The Human Rights Foundation is an independent, non-governmental organisation dedicated to defending and promoting the fundamental human rights and freedoms of all people in Aotearoa New Zealand.