Pacific people’s precarious housing ignored by politicians

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2023-09-11 03:00

New Zealand; Pacific

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An analysis of 14 years of debates in New Zealand Parliament has revealed that in discussions around housing, Pacific peoples were almost exclusively mentioned by Pacific and Māori politicians. Between 2007 to 2021, there were only five substantive statements that focussed specifically on Pacific people’s housing, and none of these ignited further debate in the House. Authors of the study say that Pacific Parliamentarians' time was primarily used to push against stereotypical narratives, ignorant comments, and outright omission of their communities’ experiences, rather than to explore viable solutions.

Media release

From: Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga

This article employs content analysis to examine the political framing of Pacific peoples in housing-related political rhetoric from 2007 to 2021. The analysis reveals that Pacific peoples almost exclusively featured only in discussions led by Pacific and Māori politicians who sought to add their communities’ perspectives into debates where most politicians either ignored them or made uninformed comments.

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Research Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga, Web page

Journal/
conference: MAI Journal

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: University of Waikato

Funder: N/A

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