Where are the journalists to tackle Prime Ministerial BS on state housing?

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Deception and political spin crossed new boundaries this week with the Prime Minister, under pressure to explain the housing catastrophe in Rotorua, making the absurd statement:

“Our long-term plan is to get them into sustainable, long-term safe housing. It’s why for instance we’ve worked so hard to now have built 10 percent of all the state houses in New Zealand.”

Meaningless, ludicrous and irrelevant.

Why was she not challenged by journalists on this preposterous statement?

The government has been demolishing state houses almost as fast as it builds them so that the net increase in state houses over the last five years stands at a piddling 1,100 per year for a waiting list of 26,664. The waiting list has increased five-fold since Labour came to power in 2017.

Labour is taking us backwards on state housing at a spectacular rate.

And neither is it the fault of the previous National government. Labour has kept the policy settings for state house building the same as applied under National – right down to maintaining the same tough criteria to enable a low-income tenant or family to get on the waiting list.

The awful reason Labour is demolishing state houses and selling the land is to provide funding for Kainga Ora. The government doesn’t want to borrow to build, which any sensible government would, so it is forcing Kainga Ora to sell land and properties to do this. It’s the largest privatisation of state assets by Labour since the 1980s.

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Where are the journalists to put some simple questions to the Prime Minister?

  • Why has Labour allowed the state house waiting list to INCREASE FIVE FOLD (from 5,000 in late 2017 to over 26,000 in 2022) with no effective policy response?
  • Why does Labour still think it’s OK to produce just 1,100 net new state houses per year for a state house waiting list of over 26,000? (When Labour came to power there were 63,209 state houses which has increased to just 68,765 by June this year)
  • Why are the number of children living in grotty motels STILL INCREASING?
  • Why is the number of children living in cars STILL INCREASING?
  • Why are the number of children in tents STILL INCREASING?
  • Why is Labour still ONLY FUNDING 1600 new IRRS places (for state house and social housing providers combined) each year for the more than 26,000 families on the state house waiting list?
  • Why does Labour still think it’s OK to keep the proportion of state house at just 3.6% of total housing stock when it was 5.4% in 1990?
  • Why has Labour not instigated an industrial-scale state house building programme such as the first Labour government did in the 1930s? (Labour then built 3,500 state houses each year – equivalent to 10,000 today on a population basis)
  • Why is the government planning to sell 55 to 60% of crown land in Auckland to private property developers when we have a housing catastrophe for low-income New Zealanders?

Where are the journalists to expose this Prime Ministerial BS?

59 COMMENTS

  1. Those are not simple questions.
    They contain numbers or dates so the PM can disagree with the numbers and dates, or they contain assertions about what has happened or will happen – so another easy way out of answering.

    A simple questions is: “Who will resign as a result of your child poverty and housing policy failure?”

  2. Dear oh dear oh dear Prime Minister. You must think we are stupid!

    Our long term plans are…blah, blah, blah. Vintage Jacinda Ardern, the routine disingenuous aspirational caca but as always, entirely non committal, open ended, can’t be nailed down, vacant. Spin is it called?

    It’s the equivalent of saying “when I win lotto”!

    The rest of her deflection is premium horse shit!

  3. Very true. And there’s no need to borrow the money from enemy Australian banks- the Reserve Bank can just issue it out. We can, in fact, pay for our own people.

    • Well said. John Key resigned as PM to take up a role with his Masters, ANZ. The current PM is no different – but no doubt she will also be given an Honours title, and a cushy job…

    • Maybe she has good reason to think we are stupid — after all we have (at least most of us have) bought into the Covid “policy” BS for 2 1/2 years!

    • Reminds me of that Pete Seeger song so ably covered by Peter Paul and Mary: “Where have all the journalists gone?…Gone to graveyards everyone…When will they (we) ever learn?”

  4. The government probably decided to use the motels because of the lockdowns and lack of tourists.

    It’s past time to move on – by getting involved in the private market now its going downward

    1. rent some from landlords at market rates and charge income related rents to tenants
    2. buy some for later building intensification (even if just a factory built subdivision at the back) and rent out – this helps to maintain the level of building activity*** in a downward market.
    3. buy and build a granny flat*** and on-sell (to families with parents).

    Otherwise make it easier for mobile homes to be located on sections (either for children of parents or parents of children).

    These area all quick interventions to make a difference – and without impacting on urban planning (public transport spines and focusing development where the supporting infrastructure is, unlike the proposed intensification wherever free for all).

    • There are so many ways that the government could be doing the right thing, and aren’t. Let’s not forget the original purpose of the ‘granny flat’… to provide some of the benefits that come from the system of family organization that occurs everywhere outside west of the Hajnal line. Multiple generations able to support each other with child- and elder care.

      We could be subsidize granny flats for granny. Even subsidize house expansions for intergenerational living, and force relaxed zoning laws on such changes. Those things would make sense. Instead, it’s all dictatorial changes to zoning laws to benefit property developers, possibly the least deserving class in the entire country.

    • don’t bail out speculators by using their shacks…wait for ’em to go bust buy cheap as state housing and convert to decent standards
      the gamblers lost their bet

  5. Well now that the queen has just passed away. Maybe in the new Aotearoa Republic, things will change for the better!?

    • Tane/Male/Man,etc. Thank you for the laugh. One of my first thoughts upon hearing that the Queen has died was to wonder how this government will take advantage of the various diversions and upheavals to slip through more anti-social legislation or regulation under the umbrella of ‘ Mourning Becomes Electra.’ Trevor Mallard as a diplomat, the vital Children’s Commissioner banished, overloaded car boots, little boxes on the hillside as the hills slide away, is a never ending circus, but Jacinda’s republic is not necessarily the most brilliant of ideas at this moment in time.

      • Those sneaky mowrees have been planning this new Republic for ages.

        Co-Governance and an upper house will follow.

        • Disagree Tane. Maaori will support the Crown because of the ToW and the concepts of Tikanga and Whakapapa, I believe.

          Whose basket would you put your eggs in? Ardern? Key? or Elizabeth Regina? (Let’s just pretend for a moment, it’s not now Charlie Rex!)

    • No chance. I’m no royalist but, whatever the rights and wrongs of the monarchy, the one thing the Queen understood and lived was the concept of service. You name me one current NZ politician or civil servant who actual understands that and has the same work ethic.

      • 1 Million %. We have lost an important role model for service and hard work. Not that the current bunch here in NZ would ever have respected her commitment. Service to community – so old hat. What a colonial dinosaur!

    • If anything the Queen’s death will provide the government a welcome distraction from tough questions about housing and poverty.

    • @Tane/Male/Man,+not+Female/Woman. It’s unusual to see a Maori like you, supporting the republic idea?

      Apparently Luxon reads the Daily Blog and I’m sure you could suggest to Chris Luxon, to run this Aotearoa Republic idea of yours up the flagpole.
      It might have a better chance of success than John Key’s new fleg.

      Your hapu may not be happy that you’d be tearing up the Treaty of Waitangi though? Tane/Male/Man,+not+Female/Woman?

      Oopps, then I just read your next post, where you wrote this –

      Those sneaky mowrees have been planning this new Republic for ages.
      Co-Governance and an upper house will follow.

      Are you really a Maori Tane? Or just another Hone Carter or Roger Bridge NACT member.
      How do you think your other right-winger Brian Tamaki and his umbrellas would think of the Republic idea?

      You’re just a fucking racist Tane, hiding behind a Maori sounding name.
      You should be banned from this site for inciting racial hatred.
      A Maori name can’t hide the darkness (or whiteness) of what a racist a-hole you really are –
      NOTE to MODS!

  6. It’s time the Labour party faithful acknowledged the sad truth that their party isn’t lead by socialists. It’s lead by sociopaths.

  7. The MSM are bought and paid for by Labour, especially TVNZ news, Radio NZ and Stuff. Our country is going backwards in every metric and yet Ardern is able to get away with it all. It’s disgusting!

    • Case in point: the biggest story on Wednesday was the lies that Jacinda and Hipkins told about the Northland lockdown was completely if ignored by 1 News.

      “Nothing to see here, didn’t happen”

      1 News is equivalent to RNZ, Red Radio, Red TV with Stuff being Red Web

      If I was National, and Im not, I would remind those receiving the PJF that those are technically loans, and the moment we get into power, because it will happen one day, we will recall every single one of those loans.

  8. An acquaintance rented a sub standard house to people who accepted the place as it was because the rent was low and he did not enforce a bond. After telling the tenants he was thinking of selling the tenants decided to complain that the conditions were sub standard. The owner was then visited by two men in suits, not demanding that the place be brought up to standard but offering on behalf of the government to pay for the upgrade if he would retain the house as a rental. Go figure !

    • personally I’d have confiscated the house, brought it up to standard and let it as a state house…but once again property owners get the lollies from LINO

      • The State should have got the work done and then put a lien on the house stating it couldnt be sold for the next 3 years and until the costs have been reimbursed to the State. And a good FY to the Scumlord would be a rent freeze for that period as well. Just watch the others get into line then.

  9. I think chomsky said..

    the media are not told what to think, the fact is if you don’t think that way you wouldn’t have a job

  10. Just as Chris Trotter explained in his post ‘the bad guys are winning’; the current Labour government hates the poor. Let that sink in for a moment and think about it.

    This is a university educated, middle class government whose friends are in academia and the civil service. Nice polite people who live in leafy suburbs, who visit art galleries and attend the theatre. None of whom have ever done a day of manual work outside. They bear no relation to Labour governments of the previous century.

    They need the votes of the poor, so they pretend to care. They’d never admit it even to themselves, but they actually WANT the poor to remain malnourished and uneducated because if they gained aspirations of rising into the middle class, they might vote for another party.

  11. Agree John, the PMC needs to look past its own naval and understand that they are the problem not the solution. I despise them and their callous virtuosity.

  12. ” Where are the journalists to expose this Prime Ministerial BS? ”

    In her handbag John ! Get with the neo liberal program.

    The poor and the other unfortunate refugees of the neo liberal hand on the throat and boot on the back are just where Jacinda and LINO expected them to be ……an annoying mosquito that everyone hates.

  13. I am an eight time Labour voter but this Labour Government are a disgrace. The housing situation is a shambles and all they have done is make things worse. Jacinda Ardern is a fake. She didn’t come in to politics to address poverty! How do I know? Her actions since Labour have had a majority. I’m starting to think Bill English was more genuine than Ardern re poverty, equal opportunity etc.

  14. Keep up this best work for New Zealand. Playing politics is death as you’ve proved over a lifetime of truth. That you’re not our Sanders is down to your speaking the truth with the acridity due to it. Bernie, unnaturally, maintained an innocence.

  15. I heard a Rotorua mother call in on Talk Back a while ago with their families personal experience.
    Her 16 yr old daughter was living at home and in a relationship with a young hood. An unemployed drug dealer and gang associate. They were trying to coax her away from him, she was doing well at school.
    The daughter and dealer somehow got their own motel on the govt, and she left home. They’ve lost her. Poor woman was in an absolute state of despair.

    Presumably the next steps will be pregnancy, P addiction, and prison.

  16. Local body elections draw nigh; consider the candidates on their form- do they support vanity projects and drive audi quattros or are they concerned with protecting the people from investors and speculators? Do they have boots on the ground and genuine cv’s or are they affiliated with the raiding class and their pr machines?
    Do they have the capacity to asses what really works for the community as a whole or do they pass off their attendance at an evangelical-type muster of the lost and hungry as being ‘one of the people’ (but with a fatter share portfolio)? Because Rome burns while Nero plays the fiddle.

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