Tenants of council-provided social housing face the risk of eviction after the government misled councils into putting council housing into private housing trusts believing this would give them access to the government’s IRRS (Income Related Rental Subsidy).
If Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee felt nauseous when he shook hands last week with renowned war criminal and Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon he didn’t show it.
19 things you need to know about ANZAC Day
Last weekend’s New Zealand Housing Summit was an eye-opener to the heavy, hidden cost to our children of the housing crisis for low-income families.
With the focus on the super-rich using New Zealand as a tax haven it’s worth remembering that even without tax evasion the rules here in New Zealand are so distorted that the super-rich, like Prime Minister John Key, pay a pittance in tax while the lowest paid workers bear the heaviest tax burden.
New Zealand needs more state housing, not less. We are in the middle of a housing crisis for low and middle income New Zealanders and only the government has the resources and the capacity to provide the large number of quality, affordable housing so desperately needed.
Keeping New Zealand and New Zealanders safe is best done by the police under strong democratic oversight through parliament. We should abolish the SIS and GCSB – they contribute only to make New Zealand a target for terrorism.
When the history of the 20th and 21st centuries is written by future historians they will remark on the astonishing steadfastness of the Palestinian people in the face of the relentless brutality and oppression they are suffering at the hands of the Israeli army.
After five years there are still thousands of Christchurch people waiting for insurance companies and the Earthquake Commission to pay up so they can get their houses rebuilt or repaired. Many have died waiting.
The government assault on state housing, state house tenants and Housing New Zealand is one of the most shameful episodes in the history of this country.