A warm, dry place to call home – for all of us
With the Christmas break behind us and that list of New Year’s resolutions posted to the fridge, it’s time to look to the year ahead. At the end of January I’ll be attending the Taieri A&P show and the Brighton Gala Day, and will ask people who stop by for a chat about what matters most to them right now.
At the Green Island market day, the South Dunedin festival and other recent events, housing is the most common issue people have raised with me.
Whether it’s housing availability, affordability or quality, there is no denying that the housing crisis we inherited persists. And it’s having a big impact on many families.
I imagine that throughout Southland and in Invercargill housing is a biggie.
I’ve been thinking about how New Zealanders might reflect on this Government’s first term come the next election later this year; how New Zealand is a different place today than it was a little over two years ago.
This Government’s strong record on state housing is one thing that sets it apart.
Before we came into office, the previous government sold off 7000 state houses over nine years. Despite selling some of those to community providers, Cabinet ministers left office with the public housing stock reduced by 1500 homes compared with when they started.
And they did it all in the middle of a housing crisis when families were living in cars or motels, and some kids were doing their homework by torchlight.
When this Government took over, we immediately stopped the selloff of state houses – something we’ve now cemented in law, so no future government can get away with such carelessness.
Over the past two years, we’ve ramped up the building of state houses across the country, adding 3600 homes to our stock. We have another 2400 homes under construction, and 13,000 more in the pipeline.
Plus we’re now building state homes in the provinces for the first time in decades.
We know that there is still much to do – and we’re hard at work getting on with it.
We’re focused on making sure all New Zealanders have a warm, dry and secure place to call home. And I’m proud to be part of a government that believes everyone of us deserves this.
I want you to know that I will continue to speak up for the interests of people here in the South. Our little corner of the world is dear to me, and it’s local people who keep me working hard every day, fighting for the things that matter to our community.