Government ignoring state house abuse

The National Party is accusing the Government of turning a blind eye to high-income earners living in state houses.

Housing spokesman David Carter says Government figures show that more than 350 Housing New Zealand households earn over $50,000 a year, while 203 people are in dire need of housing and a further 12,372 are on the waiting list.

Mr Carter says there is one case of an Otara state household earning an annual income of over $100,000.

“While fat cats milk the system, families in desperate need of housing are stuck on growing waiting lists,” says Mr Carter.

“Some of New Zealand’s most vulnerable families are waiting for housing in Otara.

“Over 400 people are on HNZ waiting lists in that area, and of those, over 250 people are in HNZ’s ‘serious need’ category or worse.

“And many of them have been waiting for more than six months,” says Mr Carter.

“State houses are already at a premium because of the Government’s subsidised rent scheme without high-income people denying housing to those most in need.

“The Labour Government assured New Zealanders its state housing policy was designed for the most vulnerable. Housing Minister, Steve Maharey, would have trouble defining a household earning over $100,000 as ‘vulnerable’,” says Mr Carter.

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