Families suffering in cars and poor housing while Minister quibbles the numbers

Social Housing Minister Paula Bennett is letting families suffer while she quibbles about the amount of subsidy community housing providers should stump up to build homes for them, the Green Party said today.

The Government has said it will pay 50 percent to community housing providers to build homes for our most vulnerable families, leaving those providers to find the remaining 50 percent. Unfortunately, many providers such as the Salvation Army aren’t in a position to come up with that kind of money.

“The Government’s strategy to shift the responsibility of housing our poorest families onto the private sector is clearly failing, when the providers they are relying on to build homes can’t afford to do it. In the meantime, families suffer,” said Green Party social housing spokesperson Marama Davidson.

“I’ve heard at our Homeless Inquiry in recent weeks how families have been forced to live in cars, or in over-crowded temporary accommodation because affordable homes aren’t available for them.

“Being homeless at such a young age will have devastating impacts on the rest of those children’s lives. It will affect their schooling, their health, and much more that could see them not succeed in life.

“The Green Party wants the best for our kids – starting off homeless because the Government won’t commit to helping families find warm, dry, secure homes hurts all of us,” said Ms Davidson.

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