New Lynn suitors on housing
Political hopeful Paulo Garcia says all we need are more houses. The National Party candidate for New Lynn said Auckland is currently going through its biggest building boom ever.
The Government’s home start grants, Kiwisaver’s first home withdrawals and Welcome Home loans are helping young families into homes, he said. Garcia said the government’s latest family income package put an average of $26 per week back into working families pockets, and in some cases over $100.
Labour’s Deborah Russell said the housing crisis needed to be solved. She said some people were living in cold and damp homes, which lead to to increased illnesses and even deaths. Labour wanted a Rental Warrant of Fitness to ensure homes were fit for purpose.
Democrats for Social Credit candidate Scott Macarthur said his party proposed to solve housing and poverty issues with greater regulation, including banning foreign ownership of homes and capping home loans at 2 per cent for first home buyers. Karen Williams of the Maori Party said there were 30,000 vacant homes in Auckland and housing was treated as a business. She said under the current Government land and homes had been sold to foreign buyers, which led to heavy inflation.
John Hubscher of United Future said he was concerned about the condition of state housing with many homes being unoccupied and others boarded up. NZ First’s Peter Chan said housing was a problem and his party’s would provide ‘‘immediate relief to our families’’. The party’s bottom line was to take GST off of all basic, essential foods.Leilani Tamu of the Green Party said they would raise the minimum wage and increase the top tax rate. The party would also introduce progressive ownership rent-to-buy arrangements to make 10,000 new homes available over 10 years.
Richard Wells of ACT said house prices had increased by 50 per cent in New Lynn since 2014 and barriers that prevented building new homes had to be removed. Paul Davie of the Conservative Party said they would free up ‘‘land banked’’ by developersto make it available to New Zealandcitizens and residents.