Overview

The Housing Policy and Services Inquiry (Wai 2750) will hear outstanding claims with grievances concerning housing policy and services. Many of the claims allege Crown failure to ensure an adequate standard of housing for Māori, both rural and urban, or to deliver state services, programmes and support enabling Māori access to adequate housing.

Inquiry progress

Stage one

In September 2020 the Tribunal confirmed the inquiry would commence with a first stage focused on Māori homelessness from 2009 to the present. The scope for the stage one inquiry encompassed:

Crown policies, practices, actions and alleged omissions from 1 August 2009 to the present as they relate to a national strategy (or strategies) addressing issues of Māori homelessness.
Māori responses to the policies, practices and omissions from 1 August 2009 to the present resulting from the Crown’s national strategy (or strategies).

Stage one did not include a comprehensive and historical inquiry into all Māori homelessness issues, or those issues which contribute to Māori homelessness. The Tribunal advised that these issues will be considered later in the inquiry.

Five hearings were held for the stage one inquiry between March and November 2021.

In May 2023 the Tribunal released Kāinga Kore: The Stage One Report of the Housing Policy and Services Kaupapa Inquiry on Māori Homelessness in pre-publication format.

Kāinga Kore: The Stage One Report of the Housing Policy and Services Kaupapa Inquiry on Māori Homelessness

Stage two

In December 2022 the Tribunal confirmed it would not divide the remainder of the Wai 2750 inquiry into separate stages. Instead, the Tribunal will hear all remaining claim issues within a single comprehensive inquiry, which will be advanced by theme (Wai 2750, #2.6.41). A single comprehensive report on the claim issues will be released at the end of the inquiry.

The following pakitara comprise the thematic scope for the remainder of the Wai 2750 inquiry:

Whenua Māori – Use and development of Māori land for housing.
Te Ao Kāinga – Housing policy, practice and regulation of the housing market.
Whānau Kāinga – Social housing and the provision of ‘public housing’ by central and/or local government.
Hauora – The relationship between poor physical and mental health (and other socio-economic factors) and housing.

The following research reports were filed as part of the research programme for the remainder of the Wai 2750 inquiry.

HISTORICAL MĀORI HOUSING, 1840-1934

PRIVATE RENTAL MARKET AND MĀORI, 1991-2021

MĀORI HOME OWNERSHIP, 1991-2021

HOUSING ON MĀORI LAND, 1870-2021

MĀORI HOUSING, 1935-1990

In September 2023 the Tribunal commissioned two further research reports:

A report on social housing and Māori between 1991 and 2021, to be prepared by Charles Waldegrave and Joshua Reid (Wai 2750, #2.3.20).
A report on special housing and Māori between 1991 and 2021, to be prepared by Elizabeth Rowe (Wai 2750, #2.3.21).

The Tribunal released a list of eligible claims for the remainder of the Wai 2750 inquiry on 26 June 2023 and indicated that any further requests for participation will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis (Wai 2750, #2.6.50). Claimants were invited to amend or particularise their pleadings in their statements of claim by 16 October 2023.

Hearings for the Wai 2750 inquiry will proceed on a largely thematic basis, beginning with whenua Māori issues. Hearings are expected to commence in 2024.