#Aotearoa / #NewZealand - Budget 2026: #Rangatahi abandoned as #homelessness hits record levels - youth advocates

by Layla Bailey-McDowell, Māori News Journalist
5/28/2026

"A youth homelessness agency says Budget 2026 has 'abandoned' #Rangatahi experiencing homelessness, as new data shows homelessness in Aotearoa is at its highest level ever.

"Youth housing collective Manaaki Rangatahi pou ārahi (chief executive) Bianca Johanson described the Budget as 'an ivory tower budget', saying young people and #whānau struggling through the #CostOfLiving crisis had been ignored.

" 'I heard [critics] call this the abandonment budget. They have abandoned us and that's how it feels,' Johanson said.

" 'There is just more picking on the poor, making things tougher for those that are already just finding it hard to survive daily."

"It comes as a new report from Community Housing Aotearoa found homelessness had reached its highest recorded level in Aotearoa, with more than half of those experiencing homelessness under the age of 24.
Homelessness reaches highest levels in history, Community Housing Aotearoa report finds

"The report also found Māori made up 28.8 percent of people experiencing homelessness, despite making up 17.1 percent of the population.

"Manaaki Rangatahi Waikato regional connector Danielle Marks said the situation for #Māori experiencing homelessness was "disgusting".

" 'I think first and foremost, it's really disgusting that Māori especially are homeless on their own whenua,' she said."

Read more:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/596674/budget-2026-rangatahi-abandoned-as-homelessness-hits-record-levels-youth-advocates

#AotearoaNews #NewZealandPol #AotearoaPol #MāoriNews #Unhoused #YouthHomelessness #HomelessnessInNewZealand

None of our mahi would be possible without our incredible team of staff who inspire and support rangatahi in our sessions.

Jen is one of those incredible staff members who has been running sessions out in Naenae, Strathmore and Karori. She has been focused on ages 9-12 and inspiring them to get initially interested in technology and the fun things they can do.

> The best about the job is seeing the excitement on the rangatahi faces when the concepts click.
- Jen

#staff #rangatahi

With just a week out from December we will be running an Advent of Code leaderboard for rangatahi across Aotearoa.

For those who don’t know Advent of Code is a series of fun (and challenging) code problems that come out each day over December as an Advent Calendar. It’s a great chance for rangatahi (and everyone else) to try some coding challenges, test a new language or test their skills.

Leaderboard Code: 991743-ca2f6858

https://adventofcode.com/

#adventofcode #competition #rangatahi

"Auckland couple goes without to help homeless youth"

nice people, for sure. but the article largely misses the structural point that the responsibility for homelessness in NZ (and anywhere else!) is COLLECTIVE, not individual

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/505952/auckland-couple-going-without-to-help-homeless-youth #Homelessness #Rangatahi #NZpol

@libroraptor you might like to read his obituary in the Guardian. It calls “Down to Earth” “his most incendiary and compelling book.” It’s
about what #climatechange and #inequality have meant for politics. If he were still alive and here in Aotearoa with us #nztwits, I suspect he would support dropping the voting age to 16 to allow #rangatahi a voice in their future, which has been placed at risk by the #GreatAcceleration

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/10/bruno-latour-obituary

If you are in #aotearoa and have young people #rangatahi who are interested in #tech, then the Catalyst Academy applications are open now. Catalyst are big in the #opensource space, and the Academy is a fully funded two-week program run in #WLG #Wellington #Whanganui

https://www.catalyst.net.nz/academy