Unaffordable housing sends teachers packing from Auckland

Unaffordable housing is pushing teachers out of Auckland, with grim consequences for schools and students, the Green Party said today.

Information released to the Green Party by the Ministry of Education shows the number of teachers leaving Auckland rose from 255 in 2015 to 390 in 2016, and principals and teachers are seriously concerned about the issue.

“Teachers work hard and are so important to their communities, they need to be able to afford a home of their own in our biggest city,” said Green Party Co-leader Metiria Turei.

“If teachers can’t afford to rent a home in Auckland, let alone buy one, what is going to happen to Auckland’s schools and the city’s children?

“The Ministry is hearing that young Auckland teachers have to either live at home with their parents or leave the city, they can’t even afford to rent a decent flat. That’s a sign of how bad the housing crisis has become.

“We want our best and brightest young people to consider becoming teachers but some are not going to do that if they know they’ll never be able to afford a home.

“Teachers and principals are asking the Ministry for help with affordable housing, which is more evidence that the housing market is broken.

“The Government really needs to step up and build thousands of affordable homes, crack down on overseas property investment, and dampen property speculation with a capital gains tax (excluding the family home),” Mrs Turei said.

Volunteer

The Greens are proud to be driven by passionate people like you. Today we need your help to take action on the biggest issues facing New Zealand.

Action

Save Auckland's Climate Budget

Sign the petition to stop Mayor Wayne Brown's proposal for dangerous cuts to climate and environmental programmes that protect us from extreme weat...

Action

No New Mines 2023

Action

Expand Voting

Now more than ever, young people in Aotearoa are impacted by Government decisions, and they deserve to have a say. We are calling on all Members of...

Action

End Intensive Winter Grazing

Sign the petition to Labour Ministers, to move faster in bringing regulations into force and end intensive winter grazing.

Action

Trains for Climate

Add your name to our open letter urging the Minister for Finance Grant Robertson to save our passenger trains between Wellington, the Wairarapa and...

Action

Healthy Oceans 2022

Join our Healthy Oceans Crew to help us keep the health and protection of our oceans high on the Labour Government’s political agenda.

Action

It's time: A Ministry for Rainbow Communities

Join our call asking the Prime Minister to establish a Ministry for Rainbow Communities that can champion Rainbow issues.

Action

No new mines on conservation land

Sign the open letter asking Labour Ministers to stick to their promise of banning new mining projects on conservation land.

Action

Allow community ownership of our buses

Public transport is an essential service and helps to tackle the climate crisis by reducing our carbon emissions. But there are barriers to communi...

Action

Local Events

We have activists across Aotearoa / New Zealand who are working hard to build a brighter future for our kids and grandkids. This page lists upcomin...

Latest Auckland Issues Announcements

Story

Auckland flood response report requires urgent action

Auckland Central Green MP Chlöe Swarbrick welcomes the findings of the Auckland Flood Response Review and urges Council to not delay implementing t...

Greens launch submission guide for Auckland Council budget

The Green Party has today launched a submission guide to help Aucklanders give crucial input and prevent potentially disastrous Auckland Council bu...

Greens launch petition to stop Auckland Council climate action cuts

The Green Party has today launched a petition to stop Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown’s proposed cuts to climate and environmental programmes that prote...

Hauraki Gulf in urgent need of protection

The Green Party backs the demands of Forest and Bird and calls on the Government to take urgent action to restore the health of the Hauraki Gulf/Tī...

Greens urge Government to adopt overdose prevention trial

The Green Party calls on the Government to adopt the proposal from NZ Drug Foundation, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, and the Needle Exchange Services Trust ...

New public transport model must be backed with investment

The Green Party has once again shown that bringing people together to demand change works, with the announcement today that the Government will giv...

Story

Greens back striking secondary teachers

The Green Party backs secondary teachers resuming strike action.

ECE extension Green win nearly 10 years in the making

The Green Party is today celebrating Budget 2023 funding extending free ECE to two year olds.

Continued strikes show need for bold action

The Green Party backs the demands of thousands of secondary and area school teachers striking today.

National’s education policy gets an F

The Green Party has marked the National Party’s new education policy and given it a fail, especially for its failure to address the underlying driv...

Greens back teachers’ demands

The Green Party backs the demands of the teachers’ strikers.

Greens back teachers’ strike

The Green Party stands with teachers in their request for fair pay and decision to strike.

Story

Let’s build better, warmer, and climate-friendly

The Government must take steps to ensure that the way we build our homes is helping to meet New Zealand’s climate change targets, the Green Party s...

Sustainable buildings and warm dry homes

Everyone has the right to a warm, dry home. Instead, housing in Aotearoa often makes us sick from damp and cold. In Aotearoa, much of our housing s...

National would rather save landlords some cash than look after sick kids: Green Party

The National Party is more concerned about the back pocket of property investors than sick kids and the elderly, Green Party Co-leader Marama David...

Stop charging homeless people for emergency housing

The Green Party is calling for the Government to stop sending homeless people into thousands of dollars of debt with the Ministry of Social Develop...

Green Party: Building code out of date and won’t ensure warm, dry homes

In response to calls for a compulsory energy rating for buildings the Green Party is renewing calls for the building code to take better account of...

Green Party calling for bold steps to tackle issues in Salvation Army report

The Green Party agrees with the Salvation Army that bold new steps are needed to stop a worrying trajectory of increased rent rises and homelessnes...