help policy makers strengthen their housing initiatives; and help ensure that
housing commitments are honoured.
Limitations and annual reviews
26. By outlining what the right to a decent home, grounded on Te Tiriti, means in the
unique context of Aotearoa, the Guidelines provide a framework on which we
can all build.
27. The Guidelines do not aim to provide an assessment of the right to a decent
home grounded on Te Tiriti i.e. they do not collate evidence and make
evaluations. But the Guidelines will help stakeholders make such assessments in
the future. Neither are they comprehensive, nor a detailed tool kit on how to
operationalise the right to a decent home and Te Tiriti. The Guidelines are a
framework for this and other mahi in the future.
28. The Guidelines did not begin with a blank page, they are located within the
parameters provided by New Zealand’s international human rights agreements
and Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Where appropriate they refer to existing housing codes
in Aotearoa New Zealand, such as Healthy Homes Standards. They draw from a
wide range of national and international experience and literature. The
Guidelines will be reviewed and, as necessary, revised every 12 months.
Guideline 7: Use the right to a decent home grounded on Te Tiriti as a framework
on which everyone who is committed to tackling the housing crisis can build.
Section 2: Colonisation and Te Tiriti o Waitangi
29. The Guidelines outline what the right to a decent home means in the unique
context of Aotearoa. This context includes colonisation, the systematic
dispossession of Māori land, ongoing impacts of colonisation and Te Tiriti o
Waitangi. This section briefly highlights this context, as well as the United Nations
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Key additional resources on
these issues are provided in Appendix 4.
30. It is impossible to implement the human right to a decent home in Aotearoa
today without recognising our colonial history and the lasting impacts of
colonisation on Māori rights and wellbeing. The arrival of Pākehā settlers resulted
in colonisation and the systematic dispossession of Māori from their land.
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