Everyone deserves a warm healthy home

Green Party MP Gareth Hughes is touring universities to promote his new member’s bill that will help ensure that everyone has a warm home. He will also be talking to students about the substandard housing they have to live in.

“Everybody deserves warm healthy homes; it’s only fair. My Warm Healthy Rental bill will ensure that all New Zealand's rental homes meet basic standards for warmth and insulation by 2018, said Mr Hughes, Green Party Housing spokesperson.

Gareth’s tour begins on Monday in Auckland and will finish in Wellington on the 20th of August. See below for further details. Gareth's bill will be entered into the next members' bill ballot.

The majority of the 1.6 million occupied houses in New Zealand do not have sufficient levels of insulation or efficient clean heating devices and a significant proportion do not meet World Health Organisation guide lines for adequate internal temperature.

“Adequate housing is a essential that all New Zealanders should be guaranteed. We know that there are a lot of cold damp rentals out there and that lots of people have to live in them because they don’t have the money to move.

“Cold, damp housing has a big impact on people's health which has flow-on effects for how they get on in education and employment.

“Sick days from cold houses lead to lost productivity and strain on the health system, which will be made worse by the fact that you now need a medical certificate to take a day off.

“This policy will not only protect people’s health, it will protect the planet by lowering emissions from energy production.

“Landlords will benefit by having the value of their properties increased when they insulate them, and it will encourage them to take advantage of the $323 million home insulation scheme that the Greens set up.

“I will be touring around the country to see our coldest flats and homes to get a first hand view of how people are living, and to talk about solutions for what is a big problem that affects a whole range of New Zealanders, especially the young and poor.

“I hope the Government will give all New Zealanders a fair go and support our bill to provide warm healthy homes,” said Mr Hughes.

Further information

Energy Efficiency Conservation (Warm Healthy Rentals) Amendment Bill - http://www.greens.org.nz/bills/energy-efficiency-conservation-warm-healthy-rentals-amendment-bill

Retrofit interventions to enable healthy living conditions in existing New Zealand houses, EECA http://www.eeca.govt.nz/node/8663

Tour details: Auckland

Who: Green Party MP Gareth Hughes
What: Public meeting on Warm Healthy Rentals campaign
Where: Cap and Gown Lounge, Level 2/34 Princes St (below Shadows Bar) Auckland University
When: 10 AM 26 July 2010

Who: Green Party MP Gareth Hughes
What: Public meeting on warm healthy rentals campaign
Where: Atrium Round Room, Atrium Building, East Precinct, Massey University, Albany
When: 3 PM 26 July 2010

Waikato

Who: Green Party MP Gareth Hughes
What: Public meeting on warm healthy rentals campaign
Where: Room i. 1. 01, Geography Building, University of Waikato
When: 10 AM 28 July 2010

Dunedin

Who: Green Party MP Gareth Hughes
What: Public meeting on warm healthy rentals campaign
Where: Commerce Lecture Theatre 2.25, University of Otago
When: 12PM 29 July 2010

Christchurch

Who: Green Party MP Gareth Hughes
What: Public meeting on warm healthy rentals campaign
Where: International Room, Level 2, UCSA building, University of Canterbury
When: 3PM 2 August 2010

Who: Green Party MP Gareth Hughes
What: Public meeting on warm healthy rentals campaign
Where: Union Lounge, LUSA building, Lincoln University
When: 1.30PM 9 August 2010

Palmerston North

Who: Green Party MP Gareth Hughes
What: Public meeting on warm healthy rentals campaign
Where: Massey University Palmerston North
When: 16 August 2010

Wellington

Who: Green Party MP Gareth Hughes
What: Public meeting on warm healthy rentals campaign
Where: Victoria University
When: 20 August 2010

Who: Green Party MP Gareth Hughes
What: Public meeting on warm healthy rentals campaign
Where: Massey University Wellington
When: 20 August 2010

ENDS

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