Abstract
Warm, dry, safe housing is undersupplied by the market in Aotearoa/New Zealand, and councils have underinvested in high-quality infrastructure. There are impressive, large-scale government investments in public housing in both urban and regional areas as well as large budget allocations for infrastructure, but there is still a shortage of habitable safe housing for low-income households.
Providing healthy, secure, affordable housing is essential to creating an inclusive, more equitable society. The rapidity of climate change bringing wilder weather requires not only an urgent upgrading of the Building Code to establish higher housing standards but continuing major investment in piping and other infrastructure networks.
The housing market can be unforgiving, particularly for those who face multiple disadvantages. Families and whanau who are homeless, in insecure housing, or living in severe housing deprivation often experience further debilitating health consequences, with impacts on their education and employment. The current system of prioritising tenants for public housing needs to be streamlined.