9 May 2002

National's Housing spokesman, Murray McCully, says today's announcement that the Government will spend $71 million on 360 new state houses over the next four years will do very little to ease the growing housing pressures in Auckland.

"By focusing Government support towards those in state houses, the Government has already created large waiting lists. If the Government has more money to spend, it should be allocated on the basis of need, not on the basis that the Government's name is on the title to the house.

"The State already owns $6 billion worth of houses and that clearly hasn't solved the problem. More creative solutions are required than simply owning more houses," says Mr McCully.

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