EXCLUSIVE: The Prime Minister on One News last night – telling a huge porky

ByJohn Minto

In response to a reporter asking why the government had demolished more state houses than it built in the past six months the government blamed lockdowns and supply chain issues and the PM said:

“One of the main priorities of this government has been when we came into office and were facing a housing crisis where the last national government had continuously sold off our state housing was to rebuild our public housing stock and we have done that at an incredible rate”

It’s “incredible” – yes – but not in the way the PM tells it. The facts are:

  1. Despite four years of Labour-led governments, the number of state house rentals available has remained largely static (2016 – 67,041 rentals; 2021 – 67,858) while the state house waiting list has soared from 5,000 to 24,546 with half of that number being Māori whanau.
  2. The present government has continued the previous governments budget of funding additional social places at 1600 per year despite the fact the waiting list had exploded.
  3. The government is committed to keeping state housing at 3.6% of total housing stock rather than the 5.4% of total housing stock it was in 1990. The government has no plans to change this despite the massive housing crisis for low-income tenants and families.
  4. In his evidence to the Waitangi Tribunal in mid 2021 (Wai 2750) Kainga Ora CEO Andrew McKenzie says the organisation has an “ambitious programme” over the next four years which will provide a net increase of 8,200 state houses. Providing 2050 additional state houses each year for a waiting list of 24, 546 can only be described politely as gross political negligence.
  5. Andrew McKenzie confirmed that when the Labour led Government came to power in 2017 officials recommended that the previous Government’s public housing budget be increased so state house building would increase from 1600 to 2000 a year but, astonishingly, the Labour-led government said NO and is still sticking to National’s plan despite the explosion in the waiting list.
  6. The government’s long-term plan, according to Kainga Ora’s current Long-Term Plan, is to add 23,000 additional places over 30 years. These houses are needed NOW – not in 30 years time! Andrew McKenzie explained to the Waitangi Tribunal that the ability of Kainga Ora to further expand supply is limited by Kainga Ora having to fund additional housing out of its own resources and borrowings.
  7. This means it is only by selling land can Kainga Ora build even the modest number it is building now. Kainga Ora is therefore involved in large-scale privatisation of crown land for private sector housebuilding – on former state-house land – while the state house waiting list and the misery of families waiting for state housing increases.
  8. Social housing providers are NOT the answer. These are niche providers who can never deliver the scale of housebuilding needed to meet this crisis for those on low-incomes.
  9. We desperately need a stand-alone government agency which embarks on an industrial scale state house building programme which uses lower borrowing rates for the government, economies of scale, crown and local body land and fast-tracking planning, design and building.
  10. Taking this approach in the late 1930s the first Labour government was building 3,500 state houses per year; the equivalent number today would be 10,000 per year. The government has built – 5 (minus five) over the past six months.
  11. An industrial scale state house building programme would save billions through reducing the massive spending on motels (over $300 million per year) and in accommodation supplements (over $1.7 billion per year) These subsidies to private sector landlords are “dead money”.

 

The State House Building Coalition has begun a campaign to force the government to change its policy.

The second step of the campaign is the petition here.

 

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28 Comments

  1. Why is it even necessary for a petition to be required for a Labour government to buld an appropriate number of state houses? Similar lack of progress during the Clark government due to the ‘winter of discontent’. They seem to be totally out of touch with the amount of need in this country. The fact that Key dismantled the state to the point where it no longer has the resources to provide the services required and came as a surprise is another area of concern. Could it be that a degree in politics followed by election from the list is not adequate preparation for the job?

    1. What do they learn in that degree in politics? Sun Tazu or Machiavellian maneouvres? Sir Humphrey Appleby methods? Or discussion on the small but important tome Your Disobedient Servant, UK 1978 which invigorated that puppet Thatcher. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYi2R0GaOgA

      An account of Civil Service in Britain by Leslie Chapman served in the Ministry of Works from 1967 for more than thirty years. Google Books
      Originally published: 1978
      Author: Leslie Chapman
      https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/10299926/Leslie-Chapman.html

    2. Well God. They really are just as bad as the National party and no coalition with any left wing party is gonna make them act like an even a moderate govt.

      Who cares if they win or lose. Nothing is going to change in NZ.

      Anyone who is able should leave this unaffordable, duopolostic deregulated dumpster fire and never look back.

  2. Jeez Wayne that just shows that anti-smacking Bill has led to a bad moral attitude even in our politicians, the purist of the pure. If we told porkies like that when I was young, we’d have got a smack on the bottom or when we get older have to write 500 times ‘I must be truthful’, or get demerit points or have some enjoyable outing stopped.

    I suggest that Labour are too full of good polls and they’ve gone to their heads like strong spirit. A period in drying-out camp is needed. Withhold that heady political support! When questioned say – I refuse to answer on the grounds that it just encourages ’em – make them suffer and let them get used to the reality of feeling inadequate .

  3. Industrial scale state house building will not happen because it will not be allowed to happen.

    There would be so much aggro from the private sector and the “anti state being involved in anything” brigade.

    If a majority government in its term could start such and have it locked in to the extent it would continue after it was ousted, fine.

    Labour goes all 1930s, National/Act gets in and dumps it.

    Timidity and self preservation rule.

  4. Assuming these “facts” are accurate…

    Jacinda wasn’t totally misleading: “… When we came into office and were facing a housing crisis where the last national government has continuously sold off our state housing…” is all true.

    The rest, again assuming the facts quoted here are accurate, are unadulterated lies. A lie wrapped in the truth

    But really, it’s indisputable that the housing crisis is now infinitely worse after 4 years of her government and worsening. So even without these facts it’s hard to argue state housing is not a mess.

    And where oh where does she get off with industrial grade bullshit like that? It was so bare faced!

    1. Current PM is like….PM JK ,” I won’t increase taxes” and then put up GST or PM Bill English…I haven’t really been involved/ can’t recall….oh apart from the 400 text messages we exchanged. They are all consummate bullshitters and unfortunately the public forgive them when it suits a tribal position of left or right ( even if they are actually remarkably similar in policy position )

  5. Shocking failure. Chris Trotters piece on importing Chinese houses that can be constructed at speed was great. And why not take race courses in cities for land? Epsom,Pukekohe, Trentham, Riccartin. Revitalise race courses out of town eg Otaki. Help with small towns like that. Good for small towns to have something they are known for
    The houses Chris mentioned are $10 or $15 thousand each. How much are we paying for motels we don’t own?

  6. She introduced the healthy homes initiative and because the rich slumlords were not happy about it she allowed the RBNZ to pump up house prices so the rich could sell their uninhabitable slums for a massive profit to desperate FHB’ers. Jacinda cancelled the CGT so the rich are not affected and can keep all the free money she keeps shovelling at them. She has allowed rents to increase and keeps on giving tax payers money to top up the sickening rents so the rich get richer. She had a report commissioned which highlighted that NZ has enormous numbers of ghost homes and then she goes on TV and said that she doesn’t believe the numbers? This person in charge of us is a charlatan and any true Labour supporter would be horrified by her antics. Note: The NATs would be just as bad but that’s not a good thing.

  7. Well explained Martyn. But thing is as usual, to paraphrase VI Lenin’s immortal question, “What is to be done?”

    And really a state house and apartment mega build is second only in the political priority stakes to rolling back and retiring Rogernomics for good.

    Gens X, Y and Z have to get their shit together and start organising.

  12. Lack of state houses is only part of the problem, isn’t it. Have a degree or a real skill behind you? Earning ‘good’ money? Live somewhere where entry level houses are at the high end of the national average. Oh, fuck, the reality hits … rents take up a third, if not more, of your salary and banks are asking more than the average Joe or Jill can salt away just for the deposit. I know life ain’t fair … but it’s got a lot more unjust. Rather be paying 18% interest in 1980 than pushing shit uphill now.

  13. A percentage of state houses could at least be built to be more transportable, so the house could be used again at a different location, instead of being dismantled.

  14. Like railway lines converging on the horizon Aderne becomes more like Boris Johnson everyday.
    A couple of exceptions…
    Johnson’s scruffy persona is carefully calculated to disarm.
    Aderne seems to have an Imelda Marcos size wardrobe.
    Boris is by nature a bumbler with a high IQ.. Aderne is a calculating political operative.
    Both love the limelight.
    Both refuse to accept responsibility for error, but gleefully bask in admiration from the gullible.
    Johnson has Brexit, Aderne clings to covid.
    Johnson flattens a child in mock rugby game. Aderne elbows a sign language interpreter.
    Both will leave office with a Passchendaele like field of broken promises.
    Jokers to the left of me, jokers to the right etc etc.

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