Written By: - Date published: 2:37 pm, April 8th, 2015 - 10 comments
Details of a public meeting hosted by the West Auckland Labour MPs about housing issues to be held tomorrow night.
Written By: - Date published: 6:55 am, March 23rd, 2015 - 48 comments
Where does this leave National’s “social housing” sell-off?
Written By: - Date published: 7:12 am, March 19th, 2015 - 206 comments
Last night in Parliament National voted down Harawira / Turei’s Feed the Kids Bill, David Shearer’s Food in Schools Bill, and Phil Twyford’s Healthy Homes Guarantee Bill.
Written By: - Date published: 7:22 am, March 13th, 2015 - 164 comments
Are you saving to buy a house? Are you saving more than $1000 a week? If not, you are going backwards.
Written By: - Date published: 9:22 am, February 17th, 2015 - 188 comments
That may be what it takes to interest charities in becoming “social housing” providers.
Written By: - Date published: 9:42 am, February 11th, 2015 - 18 comments
This morning the Salvation Army released their state of the nation report – A Mountain All Can Climb. It is mixed news, and most coverage has focused on the impact of the housing crisis.
Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, February 10th, 2015 - 61 comments
The Salvation Army has all but ruled out being involved in the Government’s Social Housing unless it is provided with capital. And if divestment occurs it considers that tenants should have a role in governance of the houses they live in.
Written By: - Date published: 3:20 pm, February 9th, 2015 - 37 comments
We are in the process of locking in inequality through the intergenerational ownership of housing, thus squeezing more and more mobility out of society.
Written By: - Date published: 11:51 am, January 31st, 2015 - 27 comments
“The Government’s continuing attempts to divest itself of state housing overlook the enormous benefits to society which these homes produce in alleviating severe housing shortages. They were built up by successive generations of New Zealanders, and to “sell them off” under the pretence of efficiency is a disservice to all of us, whether we’re homeowners or renters.”
Written By: - Date published: 7:12 am, January 30th, 2015 - 71 comments
Key’s state house asset sale policy doesn’t make sense at any level, and the questions are piling up…
Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, January 29th, 2015 - 119 comments
John Key’s housing announcement contained very little new information. Work has been put in for the past couple of years in developing the policy. The net effect will be that the Government will have more money for other capital projects not related to emergency housing. It will keep its fingers crossed that charities can pick up the slack. And the risk is that not one new house will be constructed at a time of intense need.
Written By: - Date published: 1:34 pm, January 28th, 2015 - 43 comments
The choice is clear.
Written By: - Date published: 1:29 pm, January 28th, 2015 - 28 comments
Rob Salmond at Polity on Key – “Is he deluded, or is he being deliberately misleading?”…
Written By: - Date published: 8:32 am, January 22nd, 2015 - 84 comments
Nick Smith has given his housing speech and blamed Auckland’s housing crisis on the RMA. A Treasury commissioned report, based on discussions with developers, has put dollar figures on what the RMA is allegedly costing. The logic of the analysis is that by reducing urban design standards we will make housing more affordable. Updated with link to Rob Salmond Polity post.
Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, January 20th, 2015 - 97 comments
Nick Smith today announced proposed changes to the Resource Management Act. It is likely he will resuscitate the reforms that were stalled after Peter Dunne refused to support them last year. ACT’s David Seymour has said he will support the changes even though he did not know what they are. Treasury are to release a paper with proposals for change. Updated lprent – yep National stupidity reprised.
Written By: - Date published: 7:10 am, January 20th, 2015 - 131 comments
Yesterday it was announced that Auckland is the ninth least affordable city in the world requiring 8.3 times their average wage to buy a home. Reducing regulation hasn’t worked, otherwise more than 20 homes would have been built under the 2013 fast track accord. The problem is a shortage of affordable housing.
Written By: - Date published: 8:23 am, December 22nd, 2014 - 33 comments
A new report shows that Steven Joyce’s MBIE fiefdom is failing miserably. Meanwhile the MBIE is under fire for the major cost blow out of the Sky City Casino deal – another deal with Joyce’s imprints all over it.
Written By: - Date published: 8:18 am, December 19th, 2014 - 56 comments
The government has failed to tackle NZ’s on-going housing crisis. Fuel/energy poverty is increasing, with a higher proportion of households unable to afford any heating. More Kiwis are renting than in the 2006 census, & more Aucklanders live in over-crowded households.
Written By: - Date published: 9:39 am, December 12th, 2014 - 16 comments
On RNZ this morning PSA National Secretary Richard Wagstaff criticised Bill English for his misleading rhetoric about rises in “average wages”. NZ’s income and wealth gaps have increased in recent decades. The lowest income remain low; the top earners get big salary increases.
Written By: - Date published: 3:11 pm, December 10th, 2014 - 4 comments
A last-minute, urgent appeal from Phil Twyford – oppose the sell off of state houses – today!
Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, December 2nd, 2014 - 6 comments
The second annual Child Poverty Monitor was released today. bsprout on Local Bodies on poverty and inequalities in Invercargill, “provides a good snapshot of New Zealand society”.
Written By: - Date published: 8:26 am, November 28th, 2014 - 12 comments
Kevin Hague says, the government’s plan to replace state housing with “social housing” will make the affordable housing crisis worse & is “economically reckless”. The Labour Party have circulated a petition to save state houses from being sold by the NZ government.
Written By: - Date published: 2:00 pm, November 16th, 2014 - 20 comments
Hamilton City Council currently has plans to sell of its remaining pensioner housing stock. It already sold off a block of them in 2012. Of those sold, only 12 out of 53 units are available for seniors to rent at affordable rates. This is because 27 were sold as there was no social service provider able to buy them. So now Council want to sell the rest.
Written By: - Date published: 7:35 am, November 14th, 2014 - 45 comments
On Monday Bill English reckoned that pressures in the property market were “easing”. Yesterday’s headline “Spring house price surge in October”…
Written By: - Date published: 9:08 am, November 12th, 2014 - 46 comments
Is Key planning to flog off state houses at half price to a liquor company?
Written By: - Date published: 9:22 am, November 9th, 2014 - 79 comments
Fifty year mortgages are here, and as usual the game is rigged against the ordinary buyer. Madness.
Written By: - Date published: 8:49 am, November 5th, 2014 - 11 comments
John Key’s latest answer to the housing crisis: bigger subsidies for private landlords! Subsidies to private landlords simply result in rent increases. It doesn’t increase the housing supply. But ole JK just likes screwing over young first home buyers..
Written By: - Date published: 7:43 am, November 5th, 2014 - 30 comments
National’s sale of state housing assets and other aspects of housing policy is stupid at all levels. Which is probably why they are confused themselves about it.
Written By: - Date published: 8:23 pm, November 3rd, 2014 - 34 comments
Prime Minister John Key, in his capacity as Prime Minister, promised no asset sales this term in the run up to the last election. But now they are selling assets – state houses.
Written By: - Date published: 8:18 am, November 1st, 2014 - 78 comments
Paula Bennett thinks that selling off much of the country’s housing stock is exciting and sexy and that the market and a group of charities will be able to resolve the country’s housing issues.
Written By: - Date published: 8:23 am, October 28th, 2014 - 133 comments
In its first term, National was very careful to be incremental – Key hung to the middle, chipping away carefully at workers’ rights without doing anything dramatic. Having gained the public’s trust by continuing (outside the House) to be a clown they’d like to have a drink with, they went with one big hit with […]
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