Auckland mayoral candidate John Tamihere will establish a hotline – 0800 JACINDA (5224632) – for Aucklanders who see rough sleepers or beggars, as part of his homelessness and beggars social policy released today.
Tamihere said homelessness was not a local government issue. Homelessness is not a police issue. It is a health and welfare issue.
He said after 35 years of working the streets of west Auckland delivering health, welfare and educationprogrammes to the community, he didn’t need a $500,000 political stunt to know the number of homelessand rough sleepers, or where they sleep.
Tamihere said “capitalism can be delivered with compassion.
“Homelessness is NOT a local government issue. It is a central government issue.
“The millions of dollars that Auckland Council splurges on subsidising central government failure must stop,” he said.
Under his leadership more social housing would be built by council – in partnership with central government and social workers would have to change their work hours.
“I am in this mayoral race because the present mayor determined that there will be a cap on social housing on publically owned ratepayer land. Council owns some of the most strategic and important land parcels that could bring an end to homelessness in the city, but more importantly they are brown field sites close to transport and existing infrastructure,” he said.
“We have enough social workers in New Zealand, particularly in Auckland to deal with working one-on-one With each person found on the streets, social workers, like a lot of other workers in the supply side of our economy must wake up to the fact that social work is a 24/7 job, and there will be a requirement that theywork 3 shifts.”
