23 November 2016
Government Can do More to Help Young Families and First Home Buyers - Dunne

UnitedFuture leader, Hon Peter Dunne, is calling for additional supports to be put in place for young families and first home buyers.

"UnitedFuture has already called for a Housing Summit to establish a long term plan on housing that would focus all relevant stakeholders towards a unified vision for housing New Zealand's communities," said Mr Dunne.

"We maintain that this would be the single greatest pathway towards building a housing consensus in New Zealand."

"However, this is not the only plan UnitedFuture has for housing.

"We want young families and first home buyers to be able to capitalise their annual Working For Families entitlements to assist with the purchase of their home.

"The policy is simple, families with young children are entitled to a level of support via the Working for Families programme, we want the initiative to properly achieve its goal of supporting young families by responding to present day realities.

"That means the programme must reflect the fact that a major issue for couples with children today is housing security.

"Our plan will enable many families to access a helping hand to secure a family home.

The Working for Families scheme ensures that those families who are under the most financial pressure receive the largest support.

"Importantly, the policy only applies to money that families are already entitled to and would already be receiving throughout a year, it simply allows them to advance when they receive that entitlement, so there is no additional cost to the Government,” said Mr Dunne.

"This does not eliminate the need for young, working families to save and plan for buying a house but it does reflect the way our society looks today and provides relief for those trying to gain a foothold on the property ladder.

"By allowing these families to withdraw their entitlements as a lump sum, rather than as a weekly instalment, for the purpose of securing a home deposit, we would allow the system to better reflect the pressures facing those in need," Mr Dunne concluded.

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