August 09, 2018
Panuku policies cripple social housing plans
Urban Māori advocate John Tamihere is accusing Auckland Council’s property arm of clumsy social engineering that is denying homes to the city’s low income families and superannuatants.
Mr Tamihere’s Waipareira Trust is keen to develop land for social housing but Panuku is sitting on much of the suitable acreage.
He says the unelected board and management want to limit the amount of social or state rental housing that can be built on land they release.
"Who says they are the social engineers? Who says rich folk want to live near poor folk? Who says rich folk won’t buy the houses and then on-rent them to poor folk, and you get the same community anyway? This is a breach of our human rights. Old, fixed income people are not allowed to get a social house on ratepayer land," Mr Tamihere says.
Waipareira is ready to pay market rate for the land, but it won’t accept the conditions.
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