Activists Successfully Stop House Removal in Glen Innes

During the early hours of this morning, members of the Tamaki Housing Group protested the removal of another house from the community of Glen Innes.

Six activists mounted and locked on to the two trucks carrying the house.

Other protesters, including Makelesi Ngata, whose family lived in the house for 25 years prior to their eviction earlier this year, stood in front of the trucks.

After a stand off with police, the decision was made to postpone the removal of the house. The removals are part of a large-scale gentrification of the area, with a planned 156 evictions.

So far a large number of the houses in Glen Innes remain unoccupied while a substantial remainder are being demolished onsite as part of the redevelopment.

At least 39 of the new houses built are intended to be privately sold at 'affordable' market rates ($800,000). Approximately 78 new houses are planned as part of the governments policy change from state housing to social housing, which will see government responsibility off set to charities and other private sector organisations.

Activists from the Tamaki Housing Group condemn the policy change as a "privatisation of state assets" which will leave "many homeless and displaced from their communities from the inevitable reduction in state housing stock."

The activists have stated they will "continue to fight as long as people are pushed out of their community and good homes are destroyed."

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