25 Sep 2025

International students join growing number of Auckland homeless

From Checkpoint, 5:15 pm on 25 September 2025

An advocate for Auckland's homeless says international students are joining the growing number of people sleeping rough on the city's streets. Throughout winter and into the chilly spring, Kildare Peterson has been dropping supplies to homeless people in the CBD and within his own community in Onehunga. He's seeing growing levels of desperation. One man told Checkpoint he would deliberately get arrested in order to have a roof over his head for a night or two, away from the temptations of drugs and alcohol. It's prompted calls to implement Duty to Assist legislation, to ensure all people have access to safe and stable housing. Bella Craig reports.