In late October, Wellington Mayor Andy Foster announced the establishment of a Mayoral Taskforce for Social Housing.

The Taskforce has had its first meeting, which was scheduled to allow it to follow on from the recent tenant activity around their IRRS4All campaign (a tenant-led campaign to request government to enable WCC social housing tenants to access the Income Related Rents Subsidy (IRRS)).

At that meeting the Taskforce’s objectives, scope and its schedule of activities were defined.

The Taskforce is made up of WCC elected members, tenants, and social services providers.

Other independent experts on social housing and provision of social housing developments will also be invited to attend the upcoming meetings.

Mayor Andy Foster says that ‘It’s the right time to ensure the views of tenants are clearly heard and for them to consider proposed interim and long-term solutions to meet the need of social housing tenants in the city.’

Stephen King, co-vicar at St Peter's Anglican Church and the chair of residents’ group Inner City Wellington has been appointed to the Taskforce.

He says, ‘Having the voices of tenants and supporting them to be heard is a key focus for the Taskforce, when navigating the complexities of the issues.’

Deputy Chair of the Taskforce, Cr Diane Calvert says, ‘The 2007 Deed of Grant between the government and the council for the provision of social housing was innovative in its approach at the time. We need to take that same attitude as we work up possible solutions that support the current Deed.’

The Taskforce’s next meeting is scheduled for late January, followed by further tenant-based discussions at meetings through late February/March.

Mayor Foster says ‘This will allows for initial findings to be ready to feed into both Council planning and Government budgeting processes, if required.’

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