This commentary responds to the removal of the Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities Sustaining Tenancies Framework (STF) by the National-led Coalition Government of Aotearoa New Zealand. We suggest that the ideologies informing the removal of the STF are grounded in a long history of colonial housing policies that have led successive governments to politicise Māori housing through punitive policies. Despite recent reports written about Māori housing by both the United Nations and the Waitangi Tribunal advocating for Māori housing as a fundamental human right, the removal of the STF provides an example of how guaranteed housing is treated as a privilege, as opposed to a right.

The Māori Electoral Option is a period of 4 months, every 5 years, when Māori electors can choose whether to be on the Māori or the General Electoral Roll. The outcome of the Māori Electoral Option is a key factor in determining the number of Māori seats in the New Zealand Parliament. The Electoral Commission estimates that approximately 6,000 Māori voters each year request to change electoral roll, but in 2017 over 19,000 voters applied to change. Why were so many more Māori wanting to change and why did they not know they could only change during the Māori Electoral Option held every 5 years?