Niki Rauti has been staunchly defending her home at 14 Taniwha Street for years now, against a sustained attempt to evict her from it by the state. Yesterday the Auckland district court ruled to allow Niki to be evicted and this is in the process of being brought to the high court for appeal. In the meantime the police are very likely to attempt an eviction, an eviction which must be resisted.
The government would see people moved around at a whim but Niki says that she is “fighting to not be a transient” and “sick of our people being moved from place to place to place.” This fight continues today from 8am this morning, when supporters will be meeting at her home in response to the massively increased threat of eviction. If you can make it at any time through the day please come along. Updates on the situation can typically be found @defendGI on twitter.
We stand in solidarity with Niki against privatisation and gentrification. Communities should never be carved up for profit and we don’t need to attack people’s livelihoods to solve Auckland’s housing crisis. We need an economy tied to human need so that people aren’t left living out on the street and in cars while politicians refuse to defend those they claim to care about. Stopping this suffering starts with defending against those who do it to us and that means resisting this disgusting series of attacks on a woman just trying to live her life in the place that is her home.
Ka whawhai tonu mātou, ake! Ake! Ake!
Image credit: Green Party blog
