The Green Party will continue pushing for change to ensure people don’t need to access emergency housing in the first place.

“It is a human right for everyone to be able to access a safe, warm, and affordable home. Emergency housing should be accessible to anyone that needs it, and we also need to do everything we possibly can to reduce the need for motels by lifting incomes and building more public housing,” says Green Party spokesperson for public housing Ricardo Menéndez March.

A report released today by the Human Rights Commission into emergency housing details how the current system is failing.

“The Green Party has always prioritised action that will guarantee everyone a healthy, safe, and affordable home.

“The stories contained in the Human Rights Commission report are heart breaking. For those with no options for a secure home and forced to rely on emergency housing, the system is failing.

“Too often, people have no other option but to accept unsuitable, unsafe, and unhealthy accommodation, which can push them further into homelessness.

“The Green Party has always been clear that emergency housing must be accessible to anyone that needs it, along with guaranteeing the right support and safety to ensure it uplifts people and whānau.

“People living in emergency housing should be safe, able to maintain their dignity and access necessary support which is broad, flexible and responsive to their needs.

“Today’s announcement that the Government will redesign the support services offered to those living in emergency housing and introduce standards for providers of grants will be critical in achieving this.

“But we know it’s only a start. We need to protect people’s ability to access emergency housing and broader action to provide stable, affordable housing for everyone, once and for all.

“Wider system changes such as raising incomes, rent controls, an increased supply in public housing and trusting the community to do the work themselves are required if we want to truly move away from a reliance on emergency housing,” says Ricardo Menéndez March.

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