[ACT] Maharey's Legacy: Hatchback Housing -- Dr Muriel Newman
a...@parliament.govt.nz
Maharey's Legacy: Hatchback Housing
Tuesday 27 Jul 2004
Dr Muriel Newman
Press Releases -- Social Welfare
(view HTML version at: http://www.act.org.nz/item.jsp?id=25905 )
So long as Housing Minister Steve Maharey is too afraid to make hard
decisions, we will see more and more reports of families being forced
to live in cars and vans over winter, ACT New Zealand Deputy Leader
and Housing Spokesman Dr Muriel Newman said today.
"Answers to my written Parliamentary Questions have revealed that, as
of June 30 2004, a total of 12,317 people were waiting for a Housing
New Zealand State house - over 37 percent of whom had been classified
as `At Risk' or in `Serious Need'," Dr Newman said.
"The response to yet another written Parliamentary Question outlines
the average period of time that an individual - or needy family -
spends on Housing NZ's waiting list: around two months if the
applicant is `At Risk', or just over six months if they are in
`Serious Need'.
"Meanwhile, some families have remained in the same State house for
over 40 years - around 55 throughout the country at the end of January
2004, in fact. Is it any wonder that we have people living in cars,
without a real roof over their heads?
"The aim of State housing was to provide temporary accommodation for
those in genuine need. But Labour's view is that it is now no longer
a short-term safety net, but a way of providing cheap rent for life -
in Auckland alone, houses worth more than $700,000 are being rented
for as little as $40 a week. Is it any wonder that tenants are
staying put?
"Once again the Minister and his Government are failing needy New
Zealanders with the Housing NZ backlog and emergency accommodation
shortage, forcing some families to live in cars while other spend
decades in State houses," Dr Newman said.
ENDS
Dr Muriel Newman MP
muriel...@parliament.govt.nz
Phone: 04 470 6633 / 021 800 111
Fax: 04 473 3532
Chas Te Runa, Press Secretary
chas.t...@parliament.govt.nz
Phone: 04 470 6648 / 027 289 4080
For more information visit ACT online at http://www.act.org.nz or
contact the ACT Parliamentary Office at a...@parliament.govt.nz.