Well, well, well. What do we have here? The mass surveillance state intruding into the homes of state tenants…
Surveillance fears over plans to put sensors in state houses
Plans to collect data by putting sensors in thousands of state houses could result in the information being used to cut benefit payments or even evict tenants, a charity familiar with the project says.
From next May, Kāinga Ora – Housing New Zealand’s successor – wants to begin installing multiple sensors in up to 2000 state houses as part of its Smart Homes project.
The sensors would measure internal humidity and temperature, carbon dioxide levels, light and air pressure, and external temperature and humidity. In some houses, sensors would also collect information about power consumption on up to six separate circuits in each house.
The data, which could be collected for as long as eight years, could be used to work out patterns as granular as when lights were switched on or off, when curtains were drawn, and occupancy patterns in the house.
…after the horror if the meth testing hysteria that needlessly saw $120million pissed against the wall for contamination that was never dangerous, after Housing NZ threw hundreds of beneficiaries onto the streets in the middle of a homelessness crisis, after Housing NZ viciously bankrupted tenants for decontamination costs, after Housing NZ were caught out misreading THEIR OWN policy – they now want mass surveillance data inside state homes?
Note the bullshit brown wash language…
According to the project’s Request for Proposals (RFP), the aim is to “better understand how [Kāinga Ora] customers use their homes and what barriers there may be to keeping their homes warm, dry and healthy for themselves and their whānau”.
…you gotta sprinkle in plenty of token Māori words for the brown wash to work, just like Oranga Tamariki does.
The concerns are being voiced by a Community organisation that this will be used to cut benefits and watching the pure sadistic joy these Wellington pricks get from crushing State Tenants, you KNOW the sensors will be used for that purpose…
Despite reassurances from Kāinga Ora, the charity feared the data could be misused by officials – including as evidence to evict families for overcrowding or cut benefit payments for sole parents who had someone sleeping over.
…Fuck Housing NZ, don’t trust them with this information at all and destroy the sensors.
TDB will be providing resources on how to hack the sensors and disrupt their ability to record anything meaningful.
Totally unacceptable. One can also easily imagine the outcome for those tenants “declining” HNZ’s kind offer.
Trial sensors in 1%ers pads I say!
Tiger Mountain Yep, totally unacceptable. I was frankly appalled. This is Orwellian. An Orwellian first step – there’ll be others. And some pretty boy in Housing NZ has likely got a hefty performance bonus for dreaming this up.
How people use their electricity is their own business as long as they pay their bills. I use zero heating – due partly to a pathological dislike of the lines and power companies. That could make me suspect, and subject to some nosey parker’s intrusion.
I don’t want to start on smart meters here, but won the battle not to have a sm forced on me. Otago University has done world-leading research on them; they’re banned in some parts of the USA; the WHO thinks them carcinogenic.
Opening doors and windows is a pretty good way of keeping indoors dry, and the air healthy. Mine are open semi-permanently. It’s nice, because sometimes I go into my living room and find that I have visitors. Sometimes I go out leaving the front door wide open – it’s far pleasanter to come home to than a locked house.
I also often choose to not draw curtains at night – in winter, keeping the indoor and outdoor temperatures close to each other can banish condensation, so I open curtains most nights – and sometimes the windows a smidgen too. I have one offspring who sometimes sleeps in a tree hut with a kid – that could bring Oranga Tamariki waddling around.
The biggest problem with govt depts is what they do with the information they gather, and there is always some little toady who thinks up another use.
The time could come when folk have to stand under a running shower to have a private conversation, when all HNZ have to do is actually build houses, and build them properly, and if they think that they’re impressing people going hi-tech, they’re hopeless. First things first.
They buggered up gloriously with meths levels and meths testing and they have boundless capacity to bugger up again.
“Trial sensors in 1%ers pads I say!”
Or in the homes of whichever Pollies or Dept Heads pushed for it. (Yeah, right)
This is what it would be like for the occupants.
Utterly brilliant, thank you Kheala; I’ll be accessing this site again.
I no all you said about the past wrongs of hnz and they were completely wrong in all areas but with this situation you can only be caught doing something wrong if you’re doing something wrong. People take a 50-90 dollar a week house for granted. I’m so blessed to have my hnz home. I was homeless and now I have a lovely home in a nice street only 4 or so other hnz house’s in the street. I’m totally secure in the fact if I stick to my tenancy agreement I have this home for as long as I want it. If it’s to better the homes then why not.
I know an elderly lady who’s adult daughter and young baby were homeless after a relationship break down. Elderly lady had daughter and grand daughter stay in her hnz house rather than end up on the street. Hnz said no..but also said they had no housing available for daughter and her baby…mother and child ended up sleeping in a car…this technology will pick up more cases like this..expect to see more homeless women and children
Siobhan I knew one, v old, in her own home with her ne’er do well middle-aged son sponging off her, scared about recording herself as ‘single living alone’ for NZ Super; I didn’t understand the implications when she told me.
Nearby property let, theoretically, to a 70 and 71 year old couple from the islands, had about 20 pairs of shoes at the front door, and small children kept hidden inside all day – something to do with WINZ.
These HNZ sensors are meant to record when tenants close their curtains, but some like the 70 and 71 year olds keep their curtains closed permanently – they get mouldy and rot.
I’m sorry hun that’s just incorrect.
You absolutely can be caught in circumstances that suggest you did something wrong, and in actual fact are innocent, and end up severely punished regardless.
I encourage all to watch this video to educate yourselves on how exactly that happens
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-7o9xYp7eE
I suggest we set up cameras outside MPS and city councilors’ officers and homes so we can know how many hours they are spending at work. I’ll also be advocating for internal cameras, live feeds, in council offices and MPs officers to see how much time they are wasting and who they are meeting with. Sensors will record everything in minute detail, including the content of their fart gas, to determine how much they are spending on booze, aged steak, psychiatric medication, and lube.
Isn’t the government’s mantra ‘warm, dry, housing’ – so they need to gauge how warm, and dry they are making it for the new regulations coming in for healthy homes. To do that they need sensors.
Surveillance state is here already. They are also planning more cameras on the roads to track people’s movements etc and give people more fines, apparently to make the roads safer…
More surveillance on gun owners and people in general to make us safer…
Personally would prefer more freedom and privacy because it seems modern ‘safety’ is more about control and revenue, than safety!
This is a joke, right? So why am I not laughing?
Orh, come on, be fair … We – the mass consciousness of arch-conservative ‘Heartland’ N Zed – have gotta have some way to demonize State House tenants, along with beneficiaries, the working poor and gangs … otherwise people will start thinking they’re ordinary people, just like them … us …
Aside from privacy concerns (eg…increased power consumption/lighting suggesting an “extra” tenant in the property), I worry about the method by which this would be collected.
5G has NOT been proven safe and a number of places have banned it at least until safety data can be provided. Other wireless devices do affect some people more than others. I happen to know someone who has an immune system that is very damaged and he reacts to wireless in the environment and his health suffers. Regardless on where you stand on 5G those in state housing, many of whom have severe health conditions, shouldn’t be guinea pigs just because they either choose to participate, or likely become homeless.
What is most offensive about these sensors is that HNZ can’t even do basic maintenance on houses. Why would having more data make a difference? Doesn’t it make more sense to do ACTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT with regular visits + speaking with tenants?
Why is HNZ showering some people with resources and ignoring others?
HNZ would do better to organise a trailer park for the homeless to gather.
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