Brooke van Velden
ACT Housing spokesperson
The Government is showing arrogance and hypocrisy when it comes to the timeframe for rolling out its so-called ‘Healthy Homes Standards.
The Government has set a standard for private landlords to comply by 1 July this year.
But when it comes to state homes, only 11,000 of the 68,000 are up to standard and the Government has given itself an extra two years to get there.
Housing Minister Megan Woods said recently “…with some landlords as there is in any sector of society – yes, there is more need for compassion?”
Well, the Government is a landlord and many of its tenants are some of society’s most vulnerable. Where is its compassion?
This Government seems intent on painting all landlords as the bad guys. It has piled on taxes and costs. Through’s ACT’s housing stories website we have been inundated with stories about how this Government’s policies will hurt people.
Many landlords have told us they have held their rent as low as they could to protect their vulnerable tenants but because of the Government’s changes they now have no choice but to sell.
The Minister needs to explain why she has such high standards for landlords when she’s not bothering to meet them herself.
Housing supply is our biggest issue when it comes to New Zealand’s housing crisis. ACT’s answer is for the next generation to build like the Boomers.
ACT would radically overhaul infrastructure funding, through 30-year partnerships with central government for each region. We’d then replace the Resource Management Act with legislation designed to facilitate home building and get councils out of the building consent business.
Rather than dividing, the Government should be uniting New Zealanders behind good ideas.
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