Labour’s Kiwibuild is just like greek yogurt and sea salt – for the children of the middle classes
The government’s announcement today of a major regeneration project for East Porirua has all the hallmarks of Auckland’s Tamaki tragedy whereby low-income residents and families are being displaced from Glen Innes, Point England and Panmure as these suburbs are gentrified for the middle class.
The previous Labour government, which began the Tamaki transformation, made almost identical promises to Tamaki in 2008 that they are making to East Porirua today.
The winners in Tamaki have been property developers and the middle class. Nothing we can see indicates anything different for East Porirua.
The announcement of a mere 150 extra state houses “added to the public housing stock elsewhere in Porirua” appears to be an attempt at a reassuring sop to the locals.
The housing crisis across New Zealand is sharpest for low-income tenants and families and yet the focus of this development is the use of large swathes of state housing land to build Kiwibuild homes for the children of the middle class.
With 41,000 tenants and families across New Zealand facing severe housing need the Labour government approach is to support the middle class and to side-line those struggling with impossible private sector rents.
Yesterday’s announcement is a bad omen for the existing tenants and families in East Porirua.
And since June there have been six suspected suicides in East Porirua.
Five of the sadly departed were aged under 30, all recent school leavers.
Another young recent death occurred in a car crash.
This is an overwhelming tragedy for the whole community, and for all of us.
The only good thing is that we no longer have privileged Bill English disparaging young NZ men and writing them off as hopeless and useless.I have worked with young guys from the East Porirua community, they were good men, and I feel a huge grief and anger that they are killing themselves before their lives have barely started.
Your usual sharp insights. My daughter & partner got a mortgage on a $15,000 deposit by hiring a broker to persuade the bank – on the basis of high-ish incomes they got their house. The first kiwi build couple & many other potential buyers would have similar options. Who is Twyford & Co. kidding?
just another example that 1984 still pervades the current gvt, pink neos
Hard pressed to call anyone pink whoes economics is firmly hard right like our current government.
Looking at the kind of ‘homes’ being built in Tamaki and other places, they will possibly not even last for a generation, due to poor quality materials, shoddy workmanship and so forth. Let us not forget, Auckland Council inspectors found about a third of all work done as lacking and not meeting standards.
The leaky building crisis was just the beginning, these kinds of structures are crap:
https://www.tamakiregeneration.co.nz/affordable-homes
Yet they are sold for a fortune, hardly affordable.
Stuff all on state housing:
https://www.tamakiregeneration.co.nz/new-home-opportunities/social-housing
The poor and homeless will make NO headway until they get some political clout. NZ politics works solely on self-interest.
Nicely put John.
Of all the commentators I read here and elsewhere you make the most sense, and show a true ability to keep your feet on the ground and see things for what they are.
To be applauded in today’s world.
No comment update for something close to 24 hours, wow, Jacindamania and the PM’s charm seem to silence all critics now.
Reflecting on your excellent blog John. I grew up in Taita, a big state housing suburb in the Hutt Valley. When I went to Tamaki it felt like the same community spirit. There seems to be an assumption from Twyford & mates that gentrifying parts of working class suburbs (used to be called pepper potting) with middle class owners is a good thing. It might be, it might not, but don’t assume a working class suburb is a bad thing.
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