New Zealand’s housing crisis is “a violation of the promises” made by governments over the years according to the Human Rights Commissioner.
Yesterday United Nations’ special rapporteur Leilani Farha said the crisis is “not just a housing crisis, it is a human rights crisis of significant proportions”.
Speaking on TVNZ 1’s Breakfast today Human Rights Commissioner Paul Hunt says the special rapporteur’s comments remind us “of what successive governments have made in the United Nations to deliver over a period of time, the right to a decent home for everybody.”
Mr Hunt went on to say: “In a rich country like New Zealand, it should be possible to create the conditions where everyone has access to a decent home and that’s not happening at the moment. That constitutes a violation of the promises that government has made.”
Mr Hunt says the Human Rights Commission receive “literally hundreds” of complaints towards the housing sector with new complaints laid almost every day.
“There’s a really serious problem here, unquestionably the housing crisis is a human rights crisis. We are not yet delivering on the promises that we have made, the country have made, to its people.”
