The Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity, New Zealand Housing Foundation and Community Housing Aotearoa (the organisations promoting the KiwiBuy campaign) say the Welfare Expert Advisory Group have got it brilliantly right in their report’s housing analysis and recommendations.

KiwiBuy, a campaign recently launched by the four organisations, seeks to convince the Government to adopt and fund the range of shared equity and rent to buy programmes run by community housing providers and endorsed by the Welfare Expert Advisory Group.

KiwiBuy campaign director Campbell Roberts said “The Welfare Expert Advisory Group's recommendations to fix the housing crisis are right on the money and support the aims of the KiwiBuy campaign. Among the six housing recommendations are three that are directly aligned with the intentions of KiwiBuy:

•Improving access to affordable housing for people in low and low-middle incomes, including a range of affordable home-ownership products and papakainga housing

•Increasing the range of homeownership options

•Increasing the capacity of the third sector community based housing providers

The real challenge is now for the Government to start work immediately to implement these six recommendations. The time for talk is over; the Government must begin with this year's Budget to introduce financing and processes which will see many more families flooding into new homes through KiwiBuy type schemes of homeownership and the increased building of social housing.

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