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What Effect Does Relevant Policy Have on Pacific Peoples’ Experiences of Housing in Aotearoa New Zealand?

Abstract
Every New Zealander has the right to a warm, safe, and secure home. However, many people in Aotearoa experience housing that lacks these fundamental aspects. The size, quality, and affordability of Aotearoa New Zealand’s housing within both the state and private rental markets are not meeting the health or well-being needs of the nation’s people. This is particularly notable for specific sectors of the population, including those with low socio-economic status, and Māori and Pacific peoples. This thesis aims to understand and examine Pacific peoples’ housing experiences in Kirikiriroa Hamilton, Aotearoa New Zealand. Specifically, this work seeks to understand the context of housing policy in Aotearoa New Zealand and how that links to the experiences of Pacific home occupants. It will uncover severe issues related to housing deprivation, housing over-crowding, housing affordability, housing quality, and the relationship between health and housing for Pacific peoples in Aotearoa New Zealand. In understanding these factors of peoples’ experiences with housing, relevant housing policy is examined. Policies that are included are The Resident Tenancies Act 1986 (including the Amendment Act 2020), the Housing Improvement Regulation 1947, the Health Act 1956, the Building Act 2004, the Healthy Home Guarantees Act and the Residential Tenancies (Healthy Homes Standards) Regulations 2019. Understanding how these policies function, are enforced, and are implemented by national and local governments allows insight into their effectiveness in ensuring that all of New Zealand’s population are able to access adequate and affordable housing. Assessing Kāinga Ora, New Zealand’s largest landlord, will also allow for an understanding of the housing experiences of many of the most vulnerable populations in Aotearoa. Through talanoa methodology, driven by a Pacific research team, an understanding of housing experiences is shaped around the narratives provided by seven Pacific families living in severe housing deprivation within Kirikiriroa Hamilton, Aotearoa New Zealand. Little qualitative research has been conducted on the experiences of Pacific peoples living in Aotearoa New Zealand. This thesis hopes to improve understandings of housing for Pacific peoples, their position in society and the impacts of relevant policy. Identifying existing issues will hopefully allow for a recognition of housing issues that will work towards being effectively improved by stakeholders essential to uplifting New Zealand’s housing space.
Type
Thesis
Type of thesis
Series
Citation
Date
2023
Publisher
The University of Waikato
Rights
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