Bennett Panics under Poll Pressure

new-zealand-first-party

Mon Nov 07 2016 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)

Bennett Panics under Poll Pressure

Monday, 7 November 2016, 5:38 pm
Press Release: New Zealand First Party

Rt Hon Winston Peters

New Zealand First Leader

Member of Parliament for Northland
7 NOVEMBER 2016

Bennett Panics under Poll Pressure

Paula Bennett is scrambling to douse the flames of political embarrassment with a $300m package over four years for emergency housing.

“This is a poll-driven response – National has got the drift that middle New Zealand is feeling uncomfortable that thousands of innocent Kiwis are in hardship,” says New Zealand First Leader and Northland MP Rt Hon Winston Peters.

“And no wonder, this Minister is making an absolute mess of the social housing portfolio.

“She’s flogging off state houses, and then wonders why the headlines are about people living in garages, on the streets, in cars and caravan parks.

“The two don’t go together.

“Meanwhile, thousands of state houses are boarded up, with the excuse they have P contamination or need maintenance. The latter is probably true – after eight years of neglect under this government our state houses are in dire straits.

“Paula Bennett is out of her depth, she can’t see the wood for the trees.

“She’s talked about pop-up houses, she tried to bribe people to leave Auckland, she wanted night-time flying squads to find the homeless and register them, she leaked information to belittle a marae head who was taking in homeless families, and she re-announced a $41m package for social housing providers, trying to spin it as much more than it was.

“Ms Bennett and the government’s so-called economic management has led to a growth in homelessness, in which even working families have to sleep in garages.

“From 2006-2013 homelessness grew 25 per cent.”

ENDS

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