The Green Party’s stance that tenants have been unnecessarily evicted from their homes has been justified by a report today from the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor, Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, Co-leader Marama Davidson said today.

Released by Minister of Housing and Urban Development Phil Twyford, the report says there is no evidence that third-hand exposure causes adverse health effects.

“Hundreds of people have unnecessarily been turfed out of state homes and other houses because of scaremongering by people with vested interests,” said Ms Davidson.

“This has caused so much hardship for so many families for no good reason. We have such a shortage of affordable homes that it is ridiculous so many were declared unliveable for spurious reasons.

“It has also been extremely costly to landlords, who inevitably pass those costs on to tenants.

“There are legitimate concerns about meth contamination, but a whole testing and remediation industry has grown around anxiety that the presence of even low levels of meth posed a health risk to residents,” Ms Davidson said.

Davidson welcomed Minister Twyford’s statement that several hundred state homes that had sat needlessly empty would be put back into use within weeks and that Housing New Zealand would save up to $30m a year on testing.

Sir Peter’s report found that remediation according to the NZS 8510: 2017 standard is appropriate only for identified former meth labs and properties where heavy meth use has been determined.

“This standard has been incorrectly used and the cowboys in the industry should be called out,” she said.

The report can be found at: http://www.pmcsa.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/Methamphetamine-contamination-in-residential-properties.pdf

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