Christopher Luxon did not know there are no night shelters in Auckland
Monday, 29 June 2026
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says he was unaware Auckland had no emergency night shelters, as he faces pressure over the proposed move-on orders law.
Luxon was speaking to media after the regular Cabinet meeting on Monday after the revelation by TVNZ's Q&A that Ministry of Social Development (MSD) had set staff a target to cut the number of households in emergency housing by 75%.
The Auckland City Mission closes at 5pm each day, leaving people experiencing homelessness without access to emergency shelter overnight, as Auckland has no dedicated night shelter.
Housing Minister Chris Bishop said he was aware of this, pointing to the investment made in Housing First as an alternative pathway for those who were rough sleeping.
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However, it was pointed out eligibility for the programme generally requires people to have experienced homelessness for at least a year before they qualify.
When questioned what immediate options rough sleepers had, Bishop responded that the City Mission and MSD could link people experiencing homelessness with many providers who could register them on Housing First, for health services and to help them to receive wraparound support.
He said there was “lots” of emergency housing available, and if there needed to be more, they would fund it. He said it was not an issue of funding, but rather co-ordination.
Luxon said he was not aware of the lack of night shelters, but was comfortable with the Government’s programme and the amount invested in housing.
“I put our housing record up against the previous government’s any day of the week. We have more affordable housing than we've ever had, and more first home buyers purchasing homes, which is fantastic.”
He also spoke about stable rents, a decrease in people in social housing waiting lists and moving thousands out of emergency housing
Luxon responded that police would use “very good operational practice” to ensure rough sleepers could access social services once the move-on orders were in place, noting that each case was complex.
KPI targets ‘operational’, prime minister says
Q&A detailed annual performance agreements staff were subject to, with staff receiving grading on 11 measures, including the number of people in their region who received emergency housing grants.
In 2024, the coalition set targets to reduce the amount of people in emergency housing by 75%, setting a target date of 2030, which was reached last year after tightening eligibility rules.
On the KPI target, Luxon said it was an operational issue for MSD and he would not be discussing it with Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka.
He said there is a difference between a minister who sets direction and a chief executive of a government agency that had executive and operational responsibility for the goals of the government.
Potaka told 1News he was not comfortable with managers being individually assessed on whether or not emergency housing targets were met in their region and would be asking the chief executive about it.
The Post reporting shows emergency housing applicants have a 38% chance of being declined emergency housing in the quarter to September 2025, increasing from 2.9% in early 2023 before the Government came to power.
Bishop attributed the visible rise in rough sleeping on city streets to tough economic times, saying social problems tended to “bubble up and become a bit more visible”.
He said the Government’s solution was to focus on planning and investment in social housing, and to reorient the system towards priority groups in greatest need.