MP's View: Housing cut as homelessness up
Owning a home should be an easier option for people, and renting should be secure.
Christopher Luxon has put property speculators first, handing them nearly $3billion in tax breaks while families struggle with rising bills.
Housing projects under way under Labour to address the social housing waitlist in Dunedin were ruthlessly cut by the current government last month.
The National-led government made the decision to cancel the builds of 40 one- to two-bedroom homes on Carroll St in Central Dunedin, along with a further 32 on Stafford St and 11 on Albertson Ave in Port Chalmers — 83 homes this city desperately needs.
The Carroll St site already had extensive planning undertaken, including the demolition of 16 state homes — the site was vacant and ready to go.
I wrote to Housing Minister Chris Bishop in April asking why the Carroll St development was still on hold at the time.
The minister wrote back stating the government was working to deliver social housing where it was needed most. His response goes directly against the decision to cancel these builds.
The units planned for Carroll St would have been the most sought-after size and close to the city centre and community services.
This government also shows little to no regard for homelessness.
It recently cut $1b from the emergency housing budget on the false pretence that demand for housing was reducing. Frontline housing providers know this is not the case and have frequently told politicians, including government ministers, that there are more people on the streets as a direct result of the government's policies.
Changes to the criteria by a National minister about who can access emergency housing has directly led to more people sleeping rough.
Changes to eligibility criteria mean fewer people are qualifying to get emergency housing. And at least a fifth of those coming off the emergency housing list are not going to warm dry homes of their own but to whanau, friends or other precarious situations.
In Dunedin, this is apparent in the number of tents at the Oval increasing in recent months.
Taieri MP Ingrid Leary and I are meeting a range of social services about these housing issues and will host Labour's housing spokesman, Kieran McAnulty, in Dunedin next month.
Labour will put affordability first, making it easier to buy, better to rent, and building more homes.
Dunedin needs not only housing but also social support. Many of the groups that provide this help have had their funding cut. Cutting funding while cancelling housing developments is a recipe for more homelessness.
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"Anything that is generated through party social media channels really needs to be stopped at the door. "But at the same time the media loses all perspective when a PM or foreign minister meets a US president or Secretary of State. In 2014, photos of John Key playing golf with Obama were splashed across the newspapers . . . and nobody asked who took the photos back then." MPs offering mp3s Recently reporters have also received sound bites from ministers along with standard media statements. Last week, Associate Minister of Justice Nicole McKee announced anti-money laundering law changes to make managing property easier through family trusts. The release included a minute-long MP3 clip of her reading out some of the key points - and 'video on request'. In June her office also sent three separate sound bites about the 'Three Strikes' law coming into force. Why send selected comments rather than allow reporters to record their own in a media conference in the usual way? 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