Crackdown an assault against most vulnerable: Greens

WELLINGTON: Evicting more people from Ka¯inga Ora homes shows the government is ignorant of the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says state housing is a privilege that can be taken away if abused.

The government is demanding Ka¯inga Ora takes a tougher stance on unruly social housing tenants, saying the agency needs to make ‘‘timely usage’’ of formal warning notices and relocations under the Residential Tenancies Act, and to ‘‘accelerate the process of tenancy termination’’ in severe and persistent cases.

The Green Party has slammed the policy, saying it will ‘‘result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities’’.

The party’s housing spokeswoman, Tamatha Paul, said the government was seeking to define a category of undeserving poor people.

‘‘Today’s announcement . . . marks the latest episode in the coalition’s series of assaults against people and communities who need support the most.’’

Speaking to RNZ, Housing Minister Chris Bishop said anybody evicted from social housing would still have some options.

‘‘They will have to consider a range of accommodation options, as to what they do. Maybe bunking with friends and family, maybe looking to the private rental market if they possibly can. They will have to consider their options.’’

He said any decision over evictions were ‘‘ultimately a judgement call for Ka¯inga Ora themselves’’.

He said that there were no numbers on how many tenants might be affected by any new rules, but there were hundreds of serious incidents occurring every month, so it would be ‘‘more than right now’’.

Mr Bishop said the government hoped that there would be no new evictions because of the new direction.

‘‘I want it to be a tool that Ka¯inga Ora can use, if they absolutely have to in order to drive better behaviour from people.

‘‘It’s going to be a last resort option, but at the moment it is just barely used. Ka¯inga Ora don’t even think about it

‘‘It needs to be there and it needs to be made use of.’’

He said rent arrears could be enough to result in an eviction, ‘‘in conjunction with other things’’.

Act New Zealand welcomed the move, which was in line with a commitment set out in the NationalAct coalition agreement.

Leader David Seymour said the threat of eviction was an ‘‘essential incentive to discourage malicious behaviour’’.

Mr Seymour said his party would continue to advocate for stronger action, ‘‘such as ensuring tenants terminated for antisocial behaviour are moved to the bottom of housing waitlists, and requiring Ka¯inga Ora to engage with police if they are made aware of illegal activity’’. — RNZ