Photo: RNZMonths' worth of social housing and benefit data haven't been published because of a broken system, and there's no fix in sight. The Ministry of Social Development (MSD) usually provides monthly updates, including information like the number of people in emergency and social housing, and how big the waitlist is, tracking changes over time. Those have not been published since November, and the quarterly update due in December was also missing. MSD has reported "high level" benefit data - the number of people on various benefits - as at December, but its usual monthly benefit reporting was affected too. "The delay is related to our Information Analysis Platform, which is the tool we use to collate benefit and some housing data," MSD insights general manager Fleur McLaren said.

Source: Otago Daily Times March 10, 2026 02:37 UTC