Phil Twyford
MP for Te Atatū
Housing Spokesperson

MEDIA STATEMENT

21 March 2017

Another bungle as Nats’ continue state house privatisation

The selling off of the tenancy operation for 2,800 former state houses in Glen Innes is just the latest step in National’s privatisation of state housing, says Labour’s Housing spokesperson Phil Twyford.

“It’s also National’s latest housing fiasco. It is only a year since these 2,800 houses were transferred to the Tamaki Regeneration Company (TRC), which the Government justified by saying it would do a better job for tenants than Housing NZ.

“Now, that has all changed and the tenancy business is up for sale, with reports foreign investors are lining up to buy it.

“Labour said a year ago the transfer of 2,800 houses to the TRC was a rushed, ill-advised move. The TRC never asked to become a major landlord and the risk was always that the job of being landlord would distract from their redevelopment task. That seems to be exactly what has happened.

“National’s mismanagement of the housing crisis has been abysmal. They spend all their time changing the ownership of state housing and not nearly enough building more homes.

“Labour will stop the state house sell-off, build thousands more new state houses, and run Housing NZ as a public service,” says Mr Twyford.

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