Where is Paula?
In the middle of a housing crisis the Minister of Social Housing Paula Bennett is nowhere to be seen.
Social issues
housing
There is no housing crisis in New Zealand *
* according to Nick Smith and Paula Bennett.
Banks act on housing affordability crisis (while National sits on its hands)
Despite Key’s barnstorming 2007 speech on the housing affordability crisis, National these days prefer to deny that it exists. Apparently fed up with waiting for the government to take action, banks are moving to reduce their risk and limit foreign buyers.
FIFY: Bennett too embarrassed to visit marae
National’s lies, damn lies and statistics on housing
The housing crisis is not going away, and National needs to offer something better than lies, damn lies, and statistics.
If you still need to be persuaded about New Zealand’s homeless crisis …
Eleven year old TA is bright, dedicated but homeless. She has challenged John Key to try walking in her shoes.
Yet another indicator of the homeless crisis
The homeless population of central Auckland has more than doubled in the last 3 years. That’s quite a legacy John Key. Meanwhile Te Puea Marae is still putting the government to shame, you can donate here.
Has NZ hit this milestone too?
For the first time in 130 years, more young adults (18 – 34) in America live with their parents than with a partner. How long before we pass the same milestone – or have we done so already?
Help Te Puea Marae help the homeless
The Marae providing practical support to the homeless in Auckland needs our help. You can donate at the Givealittle page here. It is shameful that this is needed in NZ, but there it is, this is what the Brighter Future looks like.
Why not just – build some damn houses?
Today the Nats released a National Policy Statment (NPS) on housing. It formalises their recent strategy of incorrectly blaming local councils – and it doesn’t build anything.
Key’s housing plan “moronic”
It isn’t often that you here such a blunt assessment of Nat policy. It’s moronic because it isn’t a housing policy at all, it’s a blame deflecting plan.
Labour builds the houses (yet another Key lie)
Good work fact-checking by Geoff Simmons at the Morgan Foundation. Contrary to Key’s lie, Labour builds more houses than National.
Watkin on the Nats’ housing blame game
Tim Watkin: “What’s clear is that National, as is their well worn tactic, will do its best to ensure the blame gets shared around”.
Housing should not depend on charity – but this is an emergency
Bravo to Te Puea Marae and their supporters – you are doing what needs to be done – and you are putting the government to shame.
Housing policy omnishambles
The Nats will pay you $3000 to move to Auckland and $5000 to leave it. This is what happens when you have no vision, no plan, and no NFI what you’re doing.
Key’s powerful speech on the urgent housing crisis
John Key has given a powerful speech on NZ’s housing crisis: “This is an issue that should concern all New Zealanders. It threatens a fundamental part of our culture, it threatens our communities and, ultimately, it threatens our economy.”
The Mother Budget
There are budgets and there are budgets. And for all the presence or absence of bright ideas, there’s a budget that threatens to subsume all others…
Bennett’s housing “announcement” is a re-announcement and a lie
Paula Bennett’s “big” housing “announcement” today is a re-announcement with a twist of lie.
Newshub poll – Key’s government has failed on housing
Quite apart from falling to his lowest level ever as preferred PM, the Newshub poll had more bad news for King John.
Bennett admits she was wrong
Paula Bennett has basically apologised to Parliament for claiming that National would create 3,000 new social housing beds when all that it was doing is funding existing beds to make sure they did not disappear.
Another strong piece from Little
Andrew Little had an excellent piece in The Herald yesterday: “It’s always about choices, and National has made some terrible ones”.
Nick Smith 0.75% successful on Auckland housing!
One year later Nick Smith has delivered three quarters of 1% of his promised 430 ha of new Auckland housing land. The Brighter Future strikes again.
Petition to forgive emergency accommodation debt
A petition: “As Minister of Social Development we call upon Minister Anne Tolley to urgently forgive all debts incurred by people who have been forced to stay in Motels as emergency accommodation….”
Incoherent, unfair and unaccountable
That is how officials from the Ministry of Social Development described the emergency housing system to Social Housing Minister Paula Bennett – a year ago. What has Bennett done in the year since?
We’re going to burn it all, until we burn it down.
What does it really mean to reduce NZ’s total fossil fuel use by 50% by 2030: a warm up discussion for an upcoming thought experiment.
Glib words and false hope aren’t going to cut it
This is a massive market and moral failure. The problem isn’t going to go away, it’s going to get worse, and the media are going to stay on the case. Time for National to borrow some more Labour / Green policy thinking.
Government’s plan for housing crisis: tread water
The Government’s promised funding for 3,000 new beds for the homeless will not create any but will make sure that existing beds are kept available.
Homeless coverage goes international
Coverage of Auckland’s homeless goes international. The working poor are now the working homeless.
The hidden homeless and the speculators
Speculators keep buying houses while families live in garages and cars. This is a moral failure, a leadership failure, a market failure – it is every kind of failure.
Land tax – what’s the down side?
The Nats are using spurious data to justify dropping a proposal for a land tax on foreign buyers of housing. Why?
Hickey on Housing data
“Mr Hickey said the actual figure for foreigners buying homes here could be anywhere between 3 and 48 percent.”
Little’s Healthy Homes Bill passes first reading
Last night Andrew Little’s Healthy Homes Guarantee Bill passed it’s first reading. Bravo to Andrew Little, Labour, The Greens, NZF, The Maori Party, and Peter Dunne, who voted in support.
We’re number one!
Garner – government “missing in action”
Duncan Garner reckons the government is “missing in action” on housing. Similar pieces could be written about poverty, pollution, the rising debt, carbon emissions, the use of NZ as a tax haven, etc.
If you need a good laugh this morning
“Nick Smith reckons Akld housing’s more affordable now than before National came to power”
Key’s land tax – too weak
Reaction to Key’s land tax has been luke warm at best, with strong calls for more effective action. Labour is promising “a ‘tidal wave’ of big housing reforms”…