Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Work smarter with a Pro licence Learn More
Parliament

Gordon Campbell | Parliament TV | Parliament Today | Video | Questions Of the Day | Search

 

Govt dumps housing burden on community sector

Moana MACKEY
Housing Spokesperson
27 September 2011
MEDIA STATEMENT

Govt dumps housing burden on community sector

After turning a blind eye to Auckland’s housing shortage for two and a half years, Housing Minister Phil Heatley today presented Aucklanders with a hastily prepared package, the burden of which seems to fall on the community housing sector,” says Labour’s Housing spokesperson Moana Mackey.

“The Minister’s proposal appears to rely heavily on the community housing sector stepping in and picking up the slack left by the National Government’s under-investment in social housing,” Moana Mackey said.

“As recently as June this year the Minister said building houses wasn’t the answer to social housing shortages in Auckland, yet under pressure it seems he has had a change of heart.

“Labour supports the belated upgrade of properties and expansion of Auckland’s social housing stock outlined in the package, but the Minister knows adding less than 300 properties a year is inadequate given there are 1600 applicants currently rated category A or B on Housing New Zealand’s waiting list in Auckland.

“When you add in the more than 3000 Auckland applicants who are rated category C or D that the Minister booted off the state house waiting list from July this year, it is clear that this announcement will not even come close to relieving social housing pressures in Auckland.

“Furthermore, the Minister says he wants third sector providers to pick up a significant proportion of the social housing load in Auckland. In the case of the Tamaki Transformation Project, he wants the third sector to take on half the social tenancies in that area. Yet the Government will not provide the funding to ensure that these providers are able to continue to charge the same income related rents that state house tenants enjoy.

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

“Labour supports the increased involvement of the community housing sector in the provision of social and affordable housing. However, we have consistently said that it must be as well as on-going investment by Housing New Zealand, not instead of.

“This is a cynical cost-cutting exercise. The more tenants the Government can push on to third sector providers, the more they save in subsidies for income-related rents.

“This will mean higher rents for an increasing number of Auckland social housing tenants. It’s an unfunded mandate that is grossly unfair to the community housing organisations that will bear the brunt of tenant dissatisfaction,” Moana Mackey said.

ENDS

© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Regional Headlines


Gordon Campbell: On The US Opposition To Mortgage Interest Deductibility For Landlords


Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don't think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of political capital by giving landlords a huge $2.9 billion tax break via interest deductibility, while still preaching the need for austerity to the disabled, and to everyone else...
More


 
 

Government: Concerns Conveyed To China Over Cyber Activity
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity... More

ALSO:


Government: GDP Decline Reinforces Government’s Fiscal Plan

Declining GDP for the December quarter reinforces the importance of restoring fiscal discipline to public spending and driving more economic growth, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says... More

ALSO:


Government: Humanitarian Support For Gaza & West Bank

Winston Peters has announced NZ is providing a further $5M to respond to the extreme humanitarian need in Gaza and the West Bank. “The impact of the Israel-Hamas conflict on civilians is absolutely appalling," he said... More


Government: New High Court Judge Appointed

Judith Collins has announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister Jason Scott McHerron as a High Court Judge. Justice McHerron graduated from the University of Otago with a BA in English Literature in 1994 and an LLB in 1996... More

 
 
 
 
 
 

LATEST HEADLINES

  • PARLIAMENT
  • POLITICS
  • REGIONAL
 
 

InfoPages News Channels


 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.