Nats abandon social housing target
As part of their “comprehensive” response to the housing crisis, the Nats are backing off their promise to increase the number of social housing places. Great news for those families sleeping in cars tonight.
housing crisis
Labour’s housing crisis interactive
Go to Labour’s Housing Map interactive and enter your address to get information on housing trends in your area.
Do you pray to take on crushing debt for the rest of your life?
Pathetic tinkering with loan limits does nothing realistic for first home buyers, but it does add more fuel to the debt fire. We need to actually build some affordable houses. If only there was a party that would do that…
Nats on HNZ dividend – Yes! No! Maybe!
That’s three positions in 2 days. Stay tuned to see what these headless chooks come up with tomorrow!
A tale of two housing policies – Steven Joyce writing National’s on Twitter
In some kind of panic over Labour’s housing policy package, Steven Joyce was writing Nat policy on Twitter yesterday. The promise to forego 2 years of HNZ dividend appears to have been made up on the fly.
Labour announcement: Labour will require Housing Corporation to use dividends to build state houses
Andrew Little has announced at the Labour Party’s 100 year special conference that Labour in Government will require Housing Corporation to instead of paying dividends to instead build houses.
Reserve Bank gives Key the fingers on housing crisis
In The Herald Liam Dann asks – Did the Reserve Bank just give two fingers to the Prime Minister?. That would be a “yes”.
The housing crisis and Key’s combustible pants
2007 Key vs 2016 Key on the housing crisis. Someone is telling lies!
Housing bubble inflating faster – Key’s panic now obvious
The housing bubble is inflating faster than ever, and Key is visibly panicking. His political problem is insoluble and his electoral problem is about to get worse.
National to seize privately owned land
National is now proposing to extinguish private property rights and seize land. Cue political and media outrage? Yeah right.
Billion dollar boondoggle
In an effort to be seen to be doing something about a housing crisis that they say doesn’t exist, the Nats have offered to lend councils $1 Billion that they can already borrow. Homeless families will also be offered a free deckchair on the Titanic to re-arrange as they please.
Good morning to the “Park up for homes” folks
A very sincere good morning to the “Park up for homes” folks who have just spent the night in their cars, protesting in support of the homeless.
Housing policy omnishambles rolls on
The government that will pay you $5000 to leave Auckland and $3000 to move to Auckland has been selling state houses so recklessly that it is now considering building temporary ones. Headless chickens make more sense.
The ghost house epidemic and the invisible hand
Last year there were officially 22,000 unoccupied properties in Auckland. This year 33,000 are officially classified as empty. “Auckland’s 6.6 per cent vacancy rate is higher than either Sydney (5.2 per cent) or Melbourne (4.8 per cent), where there has been an uproar over “ghost houses” deliberately left empty by speculators trading on a soaring market”. This is madness.
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.
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?
Let them eat cake
Salvation Army contradicts Key’s homelessness claims
Remember Key saying yesterday that the MSD and the Salvation Army knocked on the doors of eight cars that people were living in and no one wanted their help? The Salvation Army says nothing of the sort happened.
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.
Auckland’s housing crisis is just like Christchurch’s except …
Steven Joyce has claimed that Auckland’s housing crisis is like Christchurch’s. Has Auckland recently had two disastrous earthquakes?
Screw democracy – Auckland to get the Canterbury treatment
It’s naked panic now. In response to the crisis that isn’t a crisis Key is going to overrule the council that his government created and screw over Auckland democracy just like he screwed over Canterbury. What do you think of that Aucklanders?
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.”
Budget 2016 – F for Fail
— Deborah Russell
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.