During its nine long years in office, National gutted the state housing system while presiding over a housing bubble which forced rents through the roof. The result was predictable: homelessness on an unprecedented scale, with people forced to live in cars because WINZ and Housing New Zealand wouldn't provide a state house. Now, Labour is doing something about that:
Housing Minister Phil Twyford has announced $100m of funding for homelessness, with $37m allocated to finding 1500 new 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.
And she's absolutely right. We're a rich country, and no-one should be without a roof over their heads. Allowing homelessness in a country like this is just fucking indecent. Fortunately, we now have a government which understands this, rather than one which turns a blind eye to any problem which doesn't affect their rich mates.
