29 July 2013

Migrants will benefit from housing policy

All migrants to New Zealand as well as all New Zealanders and permanent residents already living here will benefit from policies to make housing more affordable by placing constraints on overseas buyers of residential property.

The Green Party has welcomed the Labour Party’s move to adopt the Greens’ plan to place constraints on non-resident, non-citizens from buying residential property. The policy will still allow all immigrants and all New Zealand citizens and permanent residents to buy houses. As part of a package of policies, it will ease the demand pressure that is making homeownership unaffordable, and give families a pathway to owning their own home.

“As a migrant myself I can say that this policy is good for new New Zealanders because it means that we can better afford to buy a stake in our new country regardless of where we came from originally,” said Dr Norman.

“It’s deeply hypocritical of John Key and National MPs, who constantly tell foreign-born MPs to ‘go home’, to try to portray this sensible policy to make housing more affordable as xenophobic. In truth, a package of proven policies that make buying a home more affordable will help new migrants to put down roots and become part of our New Zealand community.

“The Greens want a New Zealand that all New Zealanders own, regardless of where they came from. To do that, we’ve got to make sure that this country doesn’t just become a profit centre for overseas speculators.

“John Key used to say he didn’t want New Zealanders to be “tenants in our own country”. If he meant really meant that, he would join with political parties that have a plan to do something about it”, said Dr Norman.

ends

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