The Green Party believes that a tax on homebuyers is needed to stop houses from lying unused. Green Party spokesperson for housing Tamantha Paul said that houses shouldn’t be left empty. “If there’s a house and it’s safe to live in, then we should fill those houses. It’s crazy that houses would sit abandoned when Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Housing Crisis’
Warning fat city rates rises could make housing crisis worse
Monday, May 20th, 2024Verbal hearings on the city council’s long term plan have heard strong warnings of severe impacts on the “vulnerable” if fat double digit rates rises go through. The draft plan for 2024-34 proposes rates rise by nearly 19.9% next financial year and by 15.5% annually for the following four years. On Thursday’s day two of Read more
Parish housing trust born in midst of housing crisis
Monday, July 17th, 2023
Born in the midst of a housing crisis, the St Joseph’s Parish Environment Justice and Peace Group founded The Upper Hutt Housing Trust. Starting with only $10 in the bank, the transformed Housing Trust now manages 31 rental spaces, housing 110 individuals across 41 households. It also owns its first property. Emboldened by their mission, Read more
Human Rights Commission gets tough on sleeping rough
Thursday, October 20th, 2022
Whole families in Manurewa are sleeping rough in laundromats. People are waiting for years for social housing. Successive governments have failed to address the growing housing crisis. Human Rights Commissioner Paul Hunt admits in the past the Commission has failed to hold successive governments accountable for their housing failures. Not anymore though. The Commission is Read more
Caritas reminds Government to address responsibilities
Thursday, April 28th, 2022
Against a backdrop of high inflation, Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand is reminding the Government to address its responsibilities to tackle ongoing crises in housing, climate change and underlying inequality that worsen outcomes for the poor. It made the comments in its submission to the Finance and Expenditure Committee about the Budget Policy Statement 2022. Inequality Read more
Evicted pregnant mother of four finally finds a home
Monday, February 14th, 2022
A pregnant mother, who is expecting her fifth child and has been evicted from her home of six years, is finally breathing easily. Palmerston North mother Lisa Wesselson made a desperate plea for housing when the place she called home was suddenly not hers anymore. Toxic mould had become evident in the house her family Read more
Salvation Army report reveals housing crisis impacts on small town New Zealand
Thursday, August 12th, 2021Small town New Zealand is suffering. The scarcity of mental health facilities, huge increases in house prices and a lack of infrastructure spending are taking the shine off living in small town New Zealand, the Salvation Army is reporting. The Army’s fourth State of Our Communities Report focuses on Invercargill, Carterton and Tokoroa; three very Read more
Churches stepping up to help solve the housing crisis
Monday, July 19th, 2021
Churches are stepping up to help solve the housing crisis. Worth billions in assets, some churches are spending millions building social and affordable accommodation on surplus land. There is pressure on others to ensure their investments reap social as well as financial rewards. Paul Gilberd, a senior member of the Anglican Church, estimates the Anglican, Read more
Motels are quitting emergency housing scheme despite ongoing crisis
Thursday, July 15th, 2021As the emergency housing crisis deepens, moteliers are running for the hills. As at March 31, there were 4368 children living in motels across the country – up by 480 in three months. At the end of December there were 3888 children in motels. There were 465 children in motels for less than four weeks Read more
Council presents easy and more affordable housing solution for Horowhenua
Monday, July 5th, 2021A way of building infill housing that simplifies and cheapens the process is being considered as an aid to the housing crisis in Horowhenua. Its goal was to urgently help people in need of housing, and to increase the number of smaller houses in the district. The Horowhenua District Council ran a workshop on streamlined Read more