The Government’s latest announcement on housing aims to put a dent on homelessness figures this year, with money going into Housing First initiatives and short-term housing, which includes further subsidies to the hotel industry. Auckland Action Against Poverty believes the Government’s ongoing subsidies to the hotel industry are fiscally and morally irresponsible and need to be immediately phased out.
“The Government is continuing to spend millions of dollars a year into a broken short-term housing option. It’s unacceptable for the Government to be paying hotels to be charging thousands of dollars a week for rooms when many of them are unfit for purpose and expose their tenants in unsafe situations”, says Ricardo Menendez March, Auckland Action Against Poverty Coordinator.
“The hotels don’t provide any wrap around services, and are ultimately profit driven. These subsidies are a vestige of the previous National Government that failed to reduce homelessness and provide a safe, adequate shelter. If the Government is serious about addressing homelessness, it will instead put that money into permanent housing solutions and fit-for-purpose short term housing options”.
“Housing First initiatives deserve far more funding than what’s in this current Government’s budget package and need to be rolled out across the public housing sector. They should be accessible to anyone, not just those facing chronic homelessness. Addressing homelessness can only be achieved through the establishment of secure, safe, and appropriate permanent housing. Housing First initiatives acknowledge this, and provide important wrap-around mental health and addiction services.
“Minister Phil Twyford’s comment urging people with housing needs to go to Work and Income this winter are disingenuous and short-sighted. Reports by economist Shamubeel Eaqub, University of Otago Professor of Public Health Philippa Howden-Chapman and the Salvation Army’s Alan Johnson showed that 80% to 90% of homeless people applying for emergency housing are being turned away. Additionally, the Prime Minister has acknowledged there are issues with the toxic culture at Work and Income, after Auckland Action Against Poverty exposed that people were having their benefits cut without proper investigation. Minister Twyford is effectively asking people to go into a complicated, broken system that is not going to provide the help they need. If Work and Income is genuinely going to provide homeless people proper assistance there needs to be additional funding to remove benefit sanctions, increase benefits across the board, and ensure people are actually receiving the help they are entitled to.
“The Government’s ability to genuinely address homelessness is hampered by its self-imposed Budget Responsibility Rules and its pursuit of a surplus in this year’s budget. The Government owes it to our homelessness communities to increase Core Crown spending beyond what the Budget Responsibility allows and take up more debt in order to provide the housing and welfare reforms people need. A budget surplus will mean nothing to those having to spend this winter in the streets or in cold, damp homes.
“Ultimately, this Government’s announcement is more about managing homelessness than putting an end to it.”