March 22, 2021
Housing package good start on moving target
Ngāti Kahungunu leader Ngahiwi Tomoana has welcomed the Government’s new housing package, but says there needs to be more targeted assistance for Māori.
The package announced today includes increasing First Home Grant caps, doubling the bright line test so profits on investment houses will be taxed if they are sold within 10 years, scraping interest deductibility and offering offer Kāinga Ora a $2 billion loan to buy more land for new housing.
Mr Tomoana, who hosted last month’s Māori Housing Conference, says it’s a good start.
"It's trying to shoot a running dog, you know, it's already running off and a hard target, but we have always said Maori are the solution, not the problem, that we do have vast amounts of whenua in small pockets that can be developed for housing and there hasn't been any targeted assistance to those except through papakainga," he asys.
Ngahiwi Tomoana says papakainga spending has accounted for less than 1 percent of the housing budget, and there are far greater returns to be had by targeting Māori land and employment.
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