Phil Twyford
MP for Te Atatū
Housing Spokesperson

MEDIA STATEMENT

8 July 2016

Government breaks rent subsidies promise

National has broken a promise to subsidise the rent of 3000 low-income New Zealanders to make up for its state house sell-off, Labour’s Housing spokesperson Phil Twyford says.

“When John Key announced last year the Government would sell-off 8000 state houses, he said the Income-Related Rent Subsidy would beincreased by 3000. The Prime Minister used his State of the Nation speech in 2015 to commit to growing this support to 65,000 places by 2017/18.

“However, National will fall 1300 places short of its own target (see answers to estimates below). Even two years on from that goal, in 2019/20, they are forecast to be more than 800 short of the 3000 places promised.

“What’s worse is that funding allocated to provide a further 300 subsidies in Auckland – where the need for housing is the greatest – in the past financial year, was never spent.

“The dreadful rise in the number of families living in cars and garages is a direct result of a lack of state houses.

“National is more interested in selling off state houses to overseas companies, private investors and merchant bankers than focusing on what it should be doing – building more homes to house our most vulnerable.

“Selling off state houses in the middle of a housing crisis is ideologically-driven insanity by National. They continue to put profits ahead of people,” Phil Twyford says.

ends

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