Instability and insecurity shaky foundation for families
new-zealand-labour-party
Tue Jul 05 2011 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)
Instability and insecurity shaky foundation for families
Tuesday, 5 July 2011, 5:26 pm
Press Release: New Zealand Labour Party
Moana
MACKEY
Housing Spokesperson
5 July 2011 MEDIA STATEMENT
Instability and insecurity shaky foundation for families
Critical concerns around the shortage of appropriate and affordable housing continue to fall on deaf ears, says Labour’s Housing spokesperson Moana Mackey.
"National continues to ignore the real reason so many vulnerable families are unable to find affordable accommodation, namely, the ever-worsening shortage of housing supply in New Zealand,” Moana Mackey said.
"National’s one-sized fits all approach is punitive and, like their proposed welfare reforms, these changes are designed to hide the fact that National has no plan to address housing shortages in New Zealand which are reaching crisis point.
“The Minister himself has admitted that, as they found in Australia, reviewable tenancies are unlikely to actually affect many state house tenants. So why would he introduce a policy that creates enormous uncertainty for every single family housed by Housing NZ, for practically no return?
"Labour is particularly concerned about the implications for children in these state houses given the well documented negative impacts that instability and transience have on their development.
"As the Minister is well aware Housing NZ already works with tenants to move them on if their situation changes. What tenancy managers have consistently told me is that the biggest barrier is not that they refuse to move, but that they have nowhere to move to.
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"Just because someone is purged from the state house waiting list or evicted from a state house doesn't mean their housing need disappears. Until the Government starts taking our national housing shortages seriously we will continue to have thousands of families who are unable to access appropriate and affordable housing. Pretending they don't exist is not a solution,” Moana Mackey said.
ENDS
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