February 18, 2016
Maori Party supporting state house sell off
The Maori Party is backing legislation allowing the sale of state housing stock because it says it's what iwi want.
The Social Housing Reform (Transaction Mandate) Bill passed last night allows the Minister of Social Housing and the Minister responsible for Housing NZ the power to sell or transfer state housing without consulting with Housing New Zealand.
Maori Party co-leader Marama Fox says it's not a whole-sale sell off.
She says Housing New Zealand isn't a good landlord.
That's why her sympathies lie with organisations that want to offer social housing.
"They are actually proving to do a better job and a purpose fit job for the people they work with. These are not for profit organisations who are getting into social housing including iwi who have asked us to support it becuase this is what they would like to do," Ms Fox says.
Meanwhile a group opposing the government's redevelopment of Housing New Zealand properties in Glen Innes says the policy of transferring houses to community housing providers is set to fail, because the private market has never been able to provide healthy and affordable housing for low-income families.
The Tamaki Housing Group says what's happening in Auckland's eastern suburbs is not community revitalisation but state-led gentrification and privatisation where the government provides valuable land to private developers.
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