$100m scheme to house homeless

Housing Minister Phil Twyford has announced $100 million of funding for homelessness, with $37m allocated to finding 1500 new housing places by the end of winter.

The remaining $63.4m will be spent over four years to expand and sustain the Housing First programme across the country, adding 550 more places and keeping 900 established households going.

‘‘There is no reason why there should be homelessness in a country like New Zealand,’’ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said at the announcement. This is the first prebudget announcement from the Government.

‘‘No-one needs to live in a car this winter,’’ Twyford said. ‘‘By the end of winter, we will have more than 1500 additional transitional, public and Housing First places, compared to the end of last year. Most of them are available now.’’

That funding will create 300 transitional housing places, which can support households for 12 weeks or more, 116 contracted motel units for the short term, and 1071 places in state homes. The $37.1m comes from re-prioritised funding already allocated last year – described as an ‘‘under-spend’’ by Twyford and Ardern. Ardern said she expected social services to be flexible when it came to special needs grants.

‘‘That’s the kind of culture change we are looking for.’’

‘‘Our goal as a new Government as soon as we arrived was to make sure that we had a plan for winter 2018,’’ she said.

Housing First, which is gaining 50 new places by the end of winter and a further 550 over the next four years, helps the chronically homeless and those with multiple complex issues.

‘‘Housing First is a programme for the most vulnerable people and families; those who are really struggling with long-term homelessness or facing multiple and complex needs. It aims to end homelessness, not just manage it,’’ Twyford said.

‘‘For anyone who needs help with housing this winter, I urge you to go to Work and Income. Our frontline services are ready ... to help people who need support with housing this winter.’’

The last National government set up about 900 Housing First places and 2150 transitional places. At the end of last year there were 6182 people on the state house waitlist.

National MP and social housing spokesman Simon O’Connor said the Government was underdelivering on its promises, and the previous Government had spent more on emergency housing.

Former social housing minister Paula Bennett pumped $300m into emergency housing and rental subsidies at the end of 2016.

‘‘That was new money to help thousands of vulnerable New Zealanders and it was on top of rolling out Housing First, building more houses and increasing the supply of emergency and transitional housing,’’ O’Connor said.