Kāpiti Coast mayoral candidate Gwynn Compton has slammed Kāpiti Coast District Council’s attitude and lack of any plan to deal with social housing shortages as “absolutely disgraceful” following news pensioners have been left waiting two years for council housing, with only one of the 50 people who withdrew from the list in the past three years having found alternative accommodation, while the others have either been forced out of Kāpiti or died while waiting.

“It simply isn’t good enough that we’re still waiting to see any real action from this Council on Kāpiti’s housing crisis. Their lack of any urgency in addressing the housing crisis and their attitude towards council’s role in providing social housing is absolutely disgraceful, especially when the situation will only get worse once Transmission Gully opens if no action is taken,” says Mr Compton.

Of particular concern to Gwynn Compton has been the ongoing refusal by Council and Mayor K Gurunathan to accept responsibility for council playing a meaningful role in providing social housing and instead trying to pass the buck on to central government.

“The continued attempts from council and Mayor K Gurunathan to palm off responsibility for social housing to central government aren’t credible and are downright embarrassing for a district like Kāpiti that prides itself on being a retirement destination. Most other councils see social housing as a core responsibility, and this just reinforces why Kāpiti needs to vote for change this election to bring in fresh leadership who will take the significant issues facing Kāpiti seriously.

“Council has already wasted two years without taking any meaningful action on the recommendations of the Kāpiti Coast Communities Housing Taskforce which they asked for in the first place, and Kāpiti’s pensioner housing shortage shows why we can’t afford to waste anymore time. If I’m elected as Mayor I’ll make sure we urgently implement the Taskforce’s recommendations as the basis for getting our housing crisis under control.”

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