The Government’s decision to slash over 620 jobs at Kāinga Ora is another devastating blow to vulnerable communities, especially Māori and Pacific whānau who are overrepresented in the housing crisis.

The cuts include essential frontline roles, such as those in call centres and tenant support, who work every day with whānau in desperate need of safe, secure housing.

Te Kaihautū Māori of the PSA Janice Panoho says many of the workers losing their jobs are Māori and Pacific, whose cultural competence and lived experience are essential to connecting with communities in a way that upholds mana.

"By disestablishing 769 roles, the Government is actively removing Māori and Pacific workers who bring whakapapa, reo, tikanga and aroha to their roles," says Panoho.

"These are the people who guide our whānau through complex housing systems and advocate for them in a system that often excludes them," Panoho says.

"This is not just about job cuts. This is about a government turning its back on its obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Kāinga Ora has been one of the few agencies striving to work alongside Māori to deliver housing solutions rooted in dignity, partnership and manaakitanga. Gutting its workforce is a betrayal.

The Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi condemns this move as a calculated assault on equity, cultural integrity, and frontline workers who serve our most at-risk families.

"We’ve seen this before under the previous Key Government, the sale of state housing and the forced removal of whānau from their homes, which led to widespread homelessness, with families left to live in cars, tents, and on the streets," Panoho says.

"Now we are faced with this Government placing even more pressure on our communities without proper consultation with Iwi Maori and community leaders to maintain sustainable housing for our communities.

The PSA warns that these decisions will have lasting consequences. Kāinga Ora’s capacity to serve is being hollowed out, with a third of its workforce gone in just one year.

"This Government says it wants better outcomes for Māori, yet here we are, cutting the very services and people that support those outcomes," says Panoho.

"This is not tino rangatiratanga. This is a continuation of systemic neglect that leaves our whānau homeless, our workers displaced, and our rights ignored."

"Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi calls on the Government to halt these cuts, honour its commitments under Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and invest in public housing and frontline workers, not strip them away," Panoho says.

Note:

The Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi is Aotearoa New Zealand's largest trade union, representing and supporting more than 95,000 workers across central government, state-owned enterprises, local councils, health boards and community groups.

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