Housing shortage on voters’ minds
The lack of affordable housing was at the front of Tararua voters’ minds when they grilled Wairarapa electorate candidates in Dannevirke.
The Dannevirke Chamber of Commerce hosted more than 100 voters at The Hub, on Allardice St, for a candidates’ debate on Wednesday.
The lineup included veteran politicians Ron Mark, NZ First; Labour list MP Kieran Mcanulty; and former Wellington mayor Celia Wade-brown, who is standing for the Greens.
They were joined by Warren Butterworth, New Conservatives; Mike Butterick, National; and Nigel Gray, Advance NZ. The New Zealand Outdoors Party’s Kelly Thurston was the only Ikaroa-ra¯whiti Ma¯ori electorate candidate to make it.
A question from a voter asked candidates what they would do about the long-running shortage of housing and rental properties in the district.
Ron Mark said state housing was a vital pillar in supplying affordable housing and the state of Wairarapa’s social housing had been a ‘‘bugbear’’ of his for decades.
National sold the electorate’s state housing to Trust House in 1999 and the trust had been responsible for social housing in Wairarapa since.
Mark has been a withering critic of Trust House’s failure to adequately maintain the 500 social house it’s responsible for, or to build new homes.
The trust had failed its contractual obligations at every turn and it was time for the Government to take over again to boost the housing supply, he said. Mcanulty said the coalition Government funded the first 80 new state houses built in the electorate since 1999 and he’d push for further expanding Ka¯inga Ora’s presence.
There was funding available through Ka¯inga Ora to support new housing developments, but Wairarapa wasn’t getting its fair share. ‘‘We’re the only electorate in New Zealand where Housing New Zealand hasn’t got any real presence, because those state houses were all sold off. And it’s not a coincidence.’’
Wade-brown touted the Greens’ rentto-buy scheme as an affordable path to home ownership.
The Greens’ housing policy also included a plan to underwrite developments for much-needed smaller homes private developers don’t build as often because they’re not profitable enough.
Butterick and Butterworth called for reform of the Resource Management Act to speed up the construction of new housing.
The two candidates shared anecdotes about how complying with the act’s requirements was a lengthy and expensive process that helped drive up house prices and delay construction.
Gray said Advance NZ would wipe student debt, which would help younger people save for a house, and also supported government-backed rent-toown schemes.