Nobody wants to see streets dotted with tents like San Francisco or downtown LA.

This much-hyped government report to Tama Potaka gives a few insights, but doesn't really nail the problem. 

There are more people living rough, but we can't say for sure how many more, and even if we could, we can't say how statistically significant the change might be. 

Because we had census data, we know it got way worse under Labour - up 37% from 2018-2023. 

The councils are reporting —what economists might call— high frequency data that things are getting worse - the rising number of phone calls and reports of concern they're getting from the public. 

The real question —which is the basis of what the Opposition's upset about— is if the Government's crackdown on emergency housing caused a wave of homeless refugees camped out on the streets?

Here's some interesting numbers: the number of households living in emergency motels is down by 75%, around 85% of them went to some form of housing. 

So that's great. They managed to smash through the list and get most people housed. 

And here's where Labour's claim gets a bit unbelievable: there's only been a 4% increase in declines for emergency applications. 

An increase in homeless doesn't necessarily mean the emergency accommodation changes were a disaster. 

In fact, the numbers would, at least on the face of it, appear to show it's been wildly successful. 

Nobody wants to see streets dotted with tents like San Francisco or downtown LA.
This much-hyped government report to Tama Potaka gives a few insights, but doesn't really nail the problem.&nbsp;
There are more people living rough, but we can't say for sure how many more, and even if we could, we can't say how statistically significant the change might be.&nbsp;
Because we had census data, we know it got way worse under Labour - up 37% from 2018-2023.&nbsp;
The councils are reporting &mdash;what economists might call&mdash; high frequency data that things are getting worse - the rising number of phone calls and reports of concern they're getting from the public.&nbsp;
The real question &mdash;which is the basis of what the Opposition's upset about&mdash; is if the Government's crackdown on emergency housing caused a wave of homeless refugees camped out on the streets?
Here's some interesting numbers: the number of households living in emergency motels is down by 75%, around 85% of them went to some form of housing.&nbsp;
So that's great. They managed to smash through the list and get most people housed.&nbsp;
And here's where Labour's claim gets a bit unbelievable: there's only been a 4% increase in declines for emergency applications.&nbsp;
An increase in homeless doesn't necessarily mean the emergency accommodation changes were a disaster.&nbsp;
In fact, the numbers would, at least on the face of it, appear to show it's been wildly successful.&nbsp;

A fresh and intelligent start to your day - catch the very latest international and domestic news developments, sport, entertainment and business on Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, on Newstalk ZB.

A fresh and intelligent start to your day - catch the very latest international and domestic news developments, sport, entertainment and business on Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, on Newstalk ZB.

Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

Ryan Bridge: A new political battlefront's opening up on homelessness

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/ea7f8a28-488f-4883-831e-b323013db032/transcript