Biggest threat to children's lives? The housing shortage

Two reports this morning should serve to snap politicians’ focus back onto our broken housing market, says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“A story about sleeping ‘pods’ in Auckland advertised at $200 a week shows how absurd our housing crisis has become. You’d expect demand for sleeping pods in Hong Kong, but it’s insane that this could be a viable business in a country with abundant space for housing.

“But even more distressing is the report showing that damp houses kill more kids than car crashes. The housing crisis actually has a body count. Landlords know they can get away with squalid conditions because during a housing shortage tenants will take what they can get.

“We’ve been caught up in the Winston Peters’ scandal, but I’d rather be talking about housing. I was shocked when it wasn’t even brought up during Newshub’s multi-party debate.

“Currently our top civil servants seem to be focused on sharing gossip with ministers. Maybe they could use some of their briefings to address the fact there is an appalling housing shortage.

“ACT will be making the case that only a massive increase in the rate of homebuilding will turn a landlord’s market into a renter’s market, improving affordability and quality across the entire rental stock.”

ENDS

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