Housing Minister Megan Woods’ continued defence of a Government scheme that has put just 12 families into a home shows just how out of touch her Government is about the scale of New Zealand’s housing shortage, National’s Housing spokesperson Nicola Willis says.

“The progressive home ownership scheme was promised by the Prime Minister in 2017. Here we are in 2021 and the scheme has only delivered 12 houses.

“Worse, the Minister is shouting this result from the rooftops, promoting it as a ‘game changer’ for Kiwis.

“This will come as a slap in the face to the hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders locked out of home ownership by escalating house prices and a dire shortage of houses.

“Kiwis would have a higher chance of winning Lotto than benefiting from this scheme.

“By contrast, the First Home Grant scheme started by the previous National Government has resulted in 93,000 Kiwis buying their first home.

“National supports the concept of progressive home ownership and the efforts of community housing providers in delivering these schemes. But the Government has failed to deliver its scheme with the urgency required to meet the mammoth scale of the housing emergency New Zealand faces.

“National has offered to work with the Government to help address the root causes of the housing shortage by removing the planning and regulatory barriers slowing down private development.

“Sadly, it seems Minister Woods is more interested in spinning numbers and blaming the previous National Government than she is in resolving our housing shortage.”

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