Homes turned into rules – After criminalising the homeless they created, National now comes for state tenants

The Government’s latest assault on Kāinga Ora public housing is being sold as “fairness” and “independence”, but critics see something much uglier — balancing the books by making vulnerable tenants poorer and more insecure.

Each morning for the Open Mic I write a political Haiku, today’s was…

Cold keys in warm doors,
Policies knock, not welcome —
Homes turned into rules.

After criminalising the homeless they created, National now comes for state tenants…

National’s public housing reform ‘cuts costs’ at the expense of our most vulnerable – Greens

The Green Party is warning that the Government’s changes to public housing will see more public housing tenants evicted and driven deeper into poverty.

“Luxon’s Government has built on their despicable pattern of finding ‘savings’ in their budget from the empty pockets of the poorest people in New Zealand,” says Green Party Housing spokesperson, Tamatha Paul.

“They are balancing their budget on the backs of pensioners, beneficiaries and disabled people who rely on public housing.”

“Increasing rents by 20% on top of unaffordable food costs, power bills and medical bills is simply cruel.”

“Ironically, they say they want to limit time spent in public housing, yet these changes mean that these tenants will never be able to leave, nor should they have to.”

Green Party Social Development and Employment spokesperson, Ricardo Menéndez-March says, “Cutting Temporary Additional Support will leave more people struggling to survive.”

“Temporary Additional Support is a lifeline for people who cannot make ends meet otherwise. To restrict this support is to prevent people from meeting ongoing, essential living costs.”

The Green Party in government will build tens of thousands of quality, affordable public homes, and ensure affordable rents for all public housing tenants.

Tamatha Paul says, “We recognise that in New Zealand, and indeed in many countries, public housing is a crucial part of making sure housing is treated as a human right.”

“It should not only be for the most in need, but for anybody who would like to access it because of all the benefits it carries for all of us.”

Greens

Nothing fair about cruel social housing cuts – Labour

National’s social housing announcement is nothing more than a plan to remove support from struggling New Zealanders to save money.

“Christopher Luxon and Chris Bishop are trying to dress up rent hikes and benefit cuts as ‘independence’. The Government is trying to balance the books on the backs of people already doing it tough,” Kieran McAnulty said.

“They’re increasing rents for 84,000 households by an average of $31 a week during a cost-of-living crisis and pretending it’s about fairness. You do not help families into independence by making them poorer.

“Among the people with potential to be impacted will be 30,000 pensioners, 36,000 households with children, and 27,000 disabled occupants.

“People aren’t in social housing because they’ve chosen an easy ride. They’re there because rents are unaffordable, wages haven’t kept up, and this Government has made the housing crisis worse.

“Ruth Richardson tried this approach in the 1990’s, cutting support, increasing pressure on low-income families, and pretending hardship would somehow create opportunity. It failed then and it will fail now.

“A whole generation of New Zealanders paid the price for those policies through poverty, homelessness, and insecurity. National is now dragging the country backwards and asking vulnerable people to pay for it again.

“National sees social housing tenants as a cost to cut, not people to support. For many people, this will mean more stress, more instability, and more fear about whether they’ll still have a home in a few years.

“After years of underinvestment in housing, the answer was to build more affordable homes, not punish the people already struggling most. Labour believes social housing exists to give people security and dignity. National believes it’s a line item to slash.

“New Zealanders deserve a Government focused on fixing the housing crisis, not one making it harder for vulnerable people to keep a roof over their heads,” Kieran McAnulty said.

Labour

One housing rule for ministers, another for beneficiaries

Look at the imbalance of power here…

Minister seeking tougher accommodation supplement criteria claims $1000 a week housing allowance

Louise Upston wouldn’t answer questions about whether she would meet the eligibility threshold she is seeking to enforce for New Zealanders claiming accommodation supplements from the Government.

MPs who live outside of Wellington are entitled to an accommodation allowance to pay for housing in the capital.

Ministerial expense claims show the social development minister claims $1,000 per week, while the pecuniary interests register shows she jointly owns an apartment in Wellington. It does not show any mortgage debts owed.

The amount Upston claimed last year was $52,000, on top of her $320,600 ministerial salary.

For other New Zealanders receiving accommodation support from the Government, Upston introduced a bill last week that would amend the eligibility criteria for homeowners.

At the moment, households can claim an accommodation supplement if their total cash assets are worth no more than $8,100 (or $16,200 for a couple).

The maximum a household can claim, if they meet certain income tests, is $305 a week. But they have to contribute at least 30% of their income to housing costs before they are eligible.

 

If Upston’s bill passes, that threshold will increase to 40% for households that own their home.

Stuff

…one rule for them on housing, another rule for us!

This hard right Government have decided to go all in on being pricks and intend to bash the most vulnerable members of society to budget their books for the rich.

This is who you as Kiwis are supporting because you hate the ‘woke’ and Jacinda so much.

You have had your petty bigotries manipulated by the right for THEIR interests.

You would prefer to see others suffer than quality of life rise for all.

Freedom without opportunity is addiction masquerading as liberty.

National has turned Homes into rules.

Kāinga Ora is now a sad joke looking for a punchline!

Kāinga Ora was supposed to be the backbone of New Zealand’s public housing system. Instead, critics say it has become a hollowed-out shell — selling assets, abandoning developments and managing social collapse rather than preventing it.

Kāinga Ora doesn’t deserve a Māori name.

It doesn’t have the mana to own a Māori name.

It was once the proud backbone of New Zealand’s egalitarianism, now it’s a sick joke looking for a punchline.

It is a hollow fraud, a mutated agreement between the State and the Private Landlord class that we will never build enough public housing to ensure desperation in the market which Landlords can exploit.

Look at these terrible stories…

Christchurch campground left to vandals as Kāinga Ora scraps housing plan

A once cherished suburban campground in Christchurch is being trashed by vandals while it awaits sale by Kāinga Ora.

The 7,851 m² property was formerly the Amber Park Kiwi Holiday Park at 308-314 Blenheim Road in Upper Riccarton. Kāinga Ora purchased the property in 2023 with the intention to develop it for social housing – a proposal that has since been scrapped.

“As the site is no longer required for this purpose, we are selling it to give others the opportunity to develop it,” said Caroline McDowall, General Manager Housing Delivery Group for Kāinga Ora.

…not just this site, a whole bunch of sites…

“Having that land sitting idle is a disservice to the community, especially when the holiday park has in the past been a place for people to stay,” he said.

“We’ve seen it elsewhere in Riccarton where sites like the much-valued Antonio Hall and the Deans Ave saleyards are left idle and start to become a problem, so I think we’d all like to see action on the Amber Park site sooner rather than later.

“Riccarton can’t thrive with idle land.”

…this Government hasn’t built any new state houses and has privatised as many as they can get away with.

Kāinga Ora is being dismantled in plain sight

There is an obscene doom loop at play here.

The Government guts public housing, changes the thresholds for those who can get help, creates a tsunami of homelessness and then criminalises the homelessness while gaining mass surveillance powers.

It’s a cascading avalanche of social carnage with all the ethical compassion of your average drug cartel.

The lack of any attempt to utilise its role as a public good leads to things like this..

Kāinga Ora says it didn’t know tenant was rapist when placing him in state home. He’s now accused of fresh abuse

The state housing agency says it didn’t know a tenant it was placing in in a block of Auckland flats, that neighbours say is home to families with children, was a convicted rapist.

One of the neighbours claims she raised concerns with Kāinga Ora months ago about the sex offender living in the city fringe complex but says nothing was done.

He has now been charged with sexually abusing a young teen.

The agency said it did not know about the man’s criminal background when he was sent to live at the flats and only learned he was a rapist after his latest arrest.

Despite his violent sexual history and opposition from police, the man, who faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted of abusing the girl, was released on bail.

He was arrested last month and charged with three counts of unlawful sexual connection with a female aged 12-16, attempted rape and attempted unlawful sexual connection of a female aged 12-16.

What a real public housing programme could look like

…imagine a different kind of Kāinga Ora.

Imagine one that builds 40,000 of its own sustainable state homes using best standards for housing to withstand climate change and bring online such a large number of houses that it forces private slumlords to upgrade their own rentals and takes desperation out of the housing market.

Imagine a Kāinga Ora that used its access as landlord to the poorest Kiwis to ensure outreach programmes and wrap around services are available to them so that those communities can thrive rather than rot.

Imagine a Kāinga Ora that was worthy of having a Māori name.