Public behind Healthy Homes Guarantee
Andrew Little
Leader of the Opposition
May 3 2016
Public behind Healthy Homes Guarantee
Almost 30,000 New Zealanders have signed an open letter asking MPs to support a bill in Parliament tomorrow which will ensure every child and family can live in a warm, dry home, Leader of the Opposition Andrew Little says.
“Most New Zealanders know that in 2016 it is unacceptable to have children and adults hospitalised because the homes they live in are damp and cold. It’s not who we are as a people and yet every year 42,000 children suffer just that.
“That’s why I have also written to every MP asking them to support my Healthy Homes Guarantee Bill which has minimum standards of heating, insulation and drainage for every rental home. I want 121 votes to protect our kids.
“Over the past few days thousands of Kiwis have signed an open letter to John Key asking him to support the bill. National has indicated they will vote against it, putting them on the side of slum landlords, not the people who really need our help.
“Provisions in the bill ensure there will be no onerous cost to landlords as it will be phased in over time and allows for a number of different heating options. Most landlords already do the right thing – it is only the few who exploit some of our most vulnerable families.
“Living in a warm, dry home is a critical part of the Kiwi Dream, not a luxury that is only for the few. Passing this bill tomorrow will be life-changing for families who are living with toxic mould and dangerous conditions in their homes,” Andrew Little says.
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