Last week, a fire tore through a homeless camp at Dunedin’s Oval, destroying tents and makeshift shelters in a stark reminder of New Zealand’s soul-destroying housing crisis. This isn’t just a tragedy, it’s a predictable outcome of the Coalition of Chaos’s reckless policies, which have gutted funding for emergency accommodation and homelessness initiatives while leaving vulnerable Kiwis to fend for themselves.
Dunedin Mayor Jules Radich lamented the blaze, pointing the finger at the government’s failure to fund proper housing solutions. He’s right of course, but let’s not kid ourselves: this is a crisis engineered by National and its mates, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop leading the charge in dismantling the state’s role in providing safe and affordable housing for all New Zealanders.
On Friday, Scoop reported:
Mayor of Dunedin Jules Radich says a fire which burnt through homeless people’s shelters at the Oval sportsground underscores the urgent need for government action.
The fire swept through tents and a temporary wooden structure at the edge of the Oval this morning, and it was just fortunate there were no serious injuries or deaths, Mayor Radich says.
“We could have been waking up to news of a fatality, and I’m extremely relieved that isn’t the case, but this morning’s fire should put the government on notice that action is needed.
“Winter is coming, and with it the cold temperatures that will only make a bad situation worse for our homeless community.”
Radich called for government funding to support facilities like the proposed Aaron Lodge hub, a plan torpedoed by Bishop himself, who dismissed it as “not viable.” This is the same Bishop who’s overseen the dismantling of state house builds, in Dunedin especially, while the city’s homeless population balloons to over 3,200. 11 state houses over three years is evidently not enough. Meanwhile, Bishop’s crowing about “efficiency” and “market solutions” as he slashes Kāinga Ora’s budget and prioritises making private developers even richer.
The result of the National led government essentially breaking the social contract? A housing crisis that’s pushing people onto the streets and into tents to live in unsanitary and unsafe conditions. It’s not just incompetence; it’s a deliberate choice to abandon those most in need and ignore the substantial evidence that market solutions haven’t and aren’t going to work to fix New Zealand’s housing crisis.
The Coalition’s tightened eligibility for emergency housing has already been linked to a surge in rough sleeping, with frontline workers and Labour’s Carmel Sepuloni warning that families are being kicked out of motels with nowhere to go. The Salvation Army’s damning report earlier this year pinned rising street homelessness squarely on the governments callous cuts. Yet Bishop has the gall to claim homelessness hasn’t risen, based on nothing more than “anecdotal reports” and the fact that the government doesn’t gather official stats.
This is a government that’s not just out of touch with reality, it’s actively making things worse. By strangling funding for emergency accommodation and social housing, they’re ensuring more people end up in dangerous, makeshift camps like the one at the Oval. When propane tanks are exploding and tents are burning, it’s only a matter of time before we’re mourning lives lost.
Make no bones about it, the housing crisis is about life and death. The OECD ranks New Zealand among the worst developed nations for homelessness, and that was before Bishop’s wrecking ball hit social and emergency housing. In effect, the Coalition of Chaos’ obsession with austerity and market dogma is a death sentence for the vulnerable.
We need urgent action: a massive boost in state house construction, restored funding for emergency housing, and real support for councils like Dunedin’s to build transitional facilities without any further delays. Anything less is complicity in a crisis that’s already claiming lives from exposure and despair. Bishop and his Coalition of Chaos cronies need to wake up before more Kiwis pay the ultimate price for the government’s numerous housing failures.
