New Zealand seventh among the 38 member bloc’s countries for the number of people per 10,000 who are homeless Photo / File
New Zealand seventh among the 38 member bloc’s countries for the number of people per 10,000 who are homeless Photo / File
A new paper from the OECD has shown New Zealand has one of the highest rates of homelessness in the developed world, with more than 2 per cent of New Zealanders recorded as being homeless by one definition.
That is the highest population percentage recorded of any country in the developed bloc being measured, although New Zealand’s broad definition of homelessness has helped to put it high up.
New Zealand’s figures include refugees and asylum seekers who are looking for temporary accommodation, as well as victims of domestic violence. Most other countries do not include those groups. New Zealand’s data also included children and people living in “uninhabitable” housing.
By another measurement in the OECD paper released last week, New Zealand’s homelessness compares more favourably to other countries, although it is still very high.
In this different measurement, New Zealand seventh among the 38 member bloc’s countries for the number of people per 10,000 who are homeless, as defined by just either sleeping rough or in emergency accommodation.
Just over 13 people per 10,000 are in emergency accommodation with less than 1 per 10,000 sleeping rough in New Zelaand.
The UK, Belgium, France, Czech Republic, Germany, and the US posted even worse figures, with the UK recording more than 50 people per 10,000 as homeless.
The report used data from the 2018 census. Given the explosion in emergency housing in the intervening years, it is possible the figures are worse.
Housing Minister Chris Bishop said he suspected “the data has got worse since 2018″.
The OECD ranks seventh in OECD for homelessness. Graphic / OECD
He said the figures showed there was “a housing crisis in New Zealand”.
“Housing is too expensive right across the housing continuum: for first home buyers, for people shifting house, for people in social housing, for people renting. Very unfortunately that means for people at the hard-edge of the market there is entrenched homelessness and inequality,” Bishop said.
Bishop acknowledged the data might be skewed by New Zealand’s broad definition of homelessness. He noted New Zealand does a good job of measuring the number of people in emergency accommodation, which is where the bulk of the homeless population represented in these figures, with very few sleeping rough.
The OECD itself acknowledged that New Zealand might compare unfavourably with other countries because of our relatively broad definition of who counts as “homeless”.
“In New Zealand, the large share of people experiencing homelessness can be partially explained by the broad statistical definition of homelessness,” the report said.
Youth advocate and director of a youth development organisation Kick Back, Aaron Hendry, says homelessness is a reality in New Zealand that should outrage Kiwis.
“Just the impact and the trauma and harm that happens because of homelessness in our communities is immense and it’s something we need to get very serious about addressing,” Hendry said.
“We make political decisions not to support or care for our people or build the services and systems we need to adequately care for our people and our communities suffer as a result. It doesn’t have to be this way.”
The OECD noted that New Zealand is one of a tiny number of countries where the number of people who are homeless represent more than 1 per cent of the total population. Only the UK and Slovakia have a similarly high percentage of their populations who were homeless.
The paper estimated 2.17 per cent of the population was homeless, by one definition, more than four times the percentage of people in Australia who were homeless, despite Australia and New Zealand measuring homelessness in a similar way.
Bishop confirmed that Ministers have received a report from former Prime Minister Bill English about Kainga Ora’s financial performance and sustainability.
“Very soon you will see announcements around that… we have received the report, Cabinet is considering it, and soon you will see decisions around that,” Bishop said.
Hendry questioned whether the OECD’s statistics could be even worse if New Zealand was adequately ensuring there was better data in place.
“My big concern is that youth homelessness specifically actually is under-counted because we’re not actually paying attention to it,” he said.
Hendry said homelessness is at a crisis point in Auckland, with numerous children living on the streets.
“Just a couple weeks ago I heard from a 13-year-old who was sleeping rough in the city centre and that’s unusual... If you think about the impact that is having on our society and on our young people and their development, it’s traumatic,” Hendry said.
“We’re having these big conversations as a country and a community around all these huge social issues, whether it be justice, crime or poverty, and at the root of a lot of these conversations is housing insecurity and homelessness.“
- additional reporting by Benjamin Plummer
Thomas Coughlan is Deputy Political Editor and covers politics from Parliament. He has worked for the Herald since 2021 and has worked in the press gallery since 2018.
Benjamin Plummer is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He has worked for the Herald since 2022.
