Four parties sign pledge to tackle youth homelessness if elected

Four political parties have signed a set of commitments aimed at preventing and ending youth homelessness, following the country's first Youth Homelessness Summit in Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland.

Representatives from Labour, the Green Party, Te Pāti Māori and the Opportunity Party signed the commitments at Friday's summit, which brought together more than 100 housing and youth advocates and rangatahi with lived experience.

New Zealand First also attended, but its representative Vicky Hau was invited to take the commitments back for further discussion.

National and ACT were not represented, although invited.

Manaaki Rangatahi chief executive Bianca Johanson said the summit was being held ahead of the election to ensure youth homelessness remained on the political agenda.

"Right now, Aotearoa, they do not have a youth strategy. We do not have a plan to get out of youth homelessness," she said.

She said a 16-year-old experiencing homelessness that night would not necessarily know where to go or how to access support.

"And that is a shameful fact. So whānau, we're here today to do something about that."

The commitments were read aloud by rangatahi advocates Anaru Mihaere and Platinum during the political panel, and set out six areas of action for elected representatives and candidates.

They included backing a legally recognised right to safe, stable and affordable housing for every young person, and supporting legislation to prevent government agencies from releasing rangatahi from care, corrections or health services without somewhere safe to live.

Another commitment called for a national strategy to prevent and end youth homelessness, developed alongside rangatahi, Māori and Pacific communities.

The pledge also called for sustained funding for youth housing services, regular national data on youth homelessness, and further research involving Māori and indigenous researchers.

A separate set of commitments focused on rangatahi Māori, including supporting a statutory duty to assist Māori young people who were homeless or at risk.

It also called for Māori-led youth housing providers to be recognised as Te Tiriti partners in the design, delivery and governance of services, and for rangatahi to have greater opportunities to lead decision-making.

Those signing the pledge also committed to meeting with Manaaki Rangatahi annually and reporting on progress.

Te Pāti Māori MP for Tāmaki Makaurau Oriini Kaipara had previously signed the pledge and recommitted to it at the summit.

[hl] Move-on orders divide parties

The controversial move-on orders were among one of the key kaupapa discussed during the political panel.

The Government's Summary Offences (Move-on Orders) Amendment Act, which came into effect in on 25 October, gave police the power to order people to move elsewhere if they were being disorderly, begging or rough sleeping.

Anyone disobeying the order would face a fine or possible jail sentence.

Green Party representative Ricardo Menéndez March said the legislation treated people experiencing homelessness as a problem, rather than addressing the causes of homelessness.

"We have a government that prioritises treating homeless people like they're a problem as opposed to creating solutions," he said.

The Green Party would repeal the legislation, he said, and focus on "approaches that worked" rather than making "emergency housing harder to access".

Hau defended her party's support for the legislation.

"Unpopular opinion, but yes, my party, New Zealand First, did agree to the move-on orders. I have to state that it only affects 18 and over, so ... it doesn't really affect rangatahi under 18," she said, saying it was intended to address public safety concerns and antisocial behaviour affecting businesses and communities.

"I manage the Māngere Town Centre and we see a lot of disruptions and we get a lot of complaints for aggressive and antisocial behaviour, and also that leads people away, because it's not just happening in the CBD, it's happening in the suburbs as well.

"But the whole point is that they should be housed."

Labour representative and Tāmaki candidate Max Harris also pledged to reverse the legislation, saying existing laws already dealt with behaviour that genuinely threatened public safety.

"I absolutely reject that public safety is a good ground to justify the move-on orders," he said.

"This was completely unnecessary. It's appalling legislation. And what was also appalling was the rhetoric that was used to justify it."

Harris said rangatahi under the age of 18 were only excluded from the orders following advocacy - from many of the housing and youth advocates present - during the select committee process.

Kaipara said the orders risked pushing people experiencing homelessness into the justice system rather than helping them find housing.

"They're moving them on to jail, not to homes," she said.

Kaipara also raised concerns about the criminalisation of begging, saying people asking for food or money could end up with a criminal record.

"Absolutely we do not support that because most of them are Māori, and that's a fact."

National had consistently defended the bill saying it was not a criminilisation of homelessness.

"This is about reclaiming our streets and our city centres for the enjoyment of everybody who visits, works and lives there," Paul Goldsmith previously said.

The Opportunity Party candidate for Upper Harbour, Romea Tevaga, said the party would repeal the orders, arguing there was no evidence they produced effective outcomes.

"There's no evidence that shows that it actually gives any effective outcome, and that's what we are. We're [an] evidence-based party."

The election takes place on 7 November, but advanced voting has already begun.