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Te Taitokerau MP Kelvin Davis says the government should pay marae who open their doors to the homeless so they can do any necessary refurbishment.
Te Puea Marae in Mangere has about 30 people staying there and has so far placed 26 whanau in other accommodation, and other marae are getting ready to offer services.
Kelvin Davis says while marae are set up to house and feed people on a short term basis, they are now doing a job the state should be doing.
While Te Puea only saw its initiative lasting over the winter month, Mr Davis says it should see it as a new business it has fallen into.
"Because I don’t see any answers to the homeless situation in the very short term I think this is going to stretch out for a number of years. Whatever the Government is doing isn't working, we can see that, they have just thrown up the white flag and are just saying 'we've done all we can.' Why don't marae step in, but they have to be compensated properly to accommodate all these people," he says.
Mr Davis says while Te Puni Kokiri has given Te Puea $10,000, that’s a fraction of what the Government is saving by not paying accommodation supplements for the homeless.
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