Auckland mayor Len Brown is calling for the Reserve Bank to relax mortgage-lending rules to help Pacific people, in particular, buy their own homes, Radio New Zealand reports.
A new report by the Salvation Army said home ownership for Pasifika has risen by just 3 percent in the past decade. High rents and housing prices in Auckland are effectively excluding Pasifika from owning their own homes, the report said.
Brown said the figures are damning and it is time to lift the restrictions on lending to first-home buyers with a deposit of 20 percent or less.
And an Auckland youth leader believes young pacific people in South Auckland are losing hope.
Chair of Auckland Council's youth advisory panel, Flora Apulu, said the high rates of young Pacific people who are not in education or jobs are worrying.
She's seen a rise in violent crime, especially among Pasifika girls, reflecting the pressures inside Pasifika families where both mum and dad are out of work.
Apulu said Pasifika communities need to rally to give their young people hope, and politicians should do more to provide better training and jobs.
