An art installation near Britomart in Auckland from February 2011 speaks to the city’s response to homelessness [artist unknown].
While New Zealand has a universal system of social welfare, homelessness remains a concerning social issue. In Auckland, the national government, local government, and non-governmental organisations all attempt in some way to prevent or mitigate homelessness. Motivated by a concern that policy does not attend well to short term needs, this policy report will seek out a better approach to homeless policy that attends to short and long term needs of the homeless, sits in line with the goals of human flourishing and respecting human dignity, and coordinates between different locations of policy. This policy issue ties to a broader concern regarding how the universal provisions of social policy in New Zealand fail to prevent homelessness. It also aims to ensure that policy considers all experiences of homelessness, rather than just those who sleep on the streets. A comparative institutional analysis will be undertaken to consider policy options in other locations that better fulfil these goals than the current policy arrangements.
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