Warm and healthy houses for families

NZ Independent Coalition today announced two vital commitments to ensure Kiwi families have warm and healthy houses to live in: a commitment to solve the Auckland housing crisis, and an immediate and far-reaching inquiry into the failure of the Christchurch rebuild.

In Auckland, there is a shortage of over 100,000 houses, and the National Party is doing nothing to solve the crisis. Instead, there have been promising 39,000 consents on the never-never, when what people need are houses, and they need them now. Instead, National is talking of $30 billion of new construction but not delivering.

Good regional development policies are needed. A sufficient supply of town planners, engineers and architects, and tradespeople are needed so that the flow of housing is immediate.

In Christchurch, money has been poured into the city, and has disappeared. As a result the rebuild has stalled. An inquiry will be launched immediately after the election to follow the money, to uncover the truth. We predict that New Zealanders will be shocked by the outcome.

There are many examples of jobs being overcharged: $200 worth of materials, $6000 of labour, and an invoice to EQC of over $15,000. Added to that, National is breaching trite law and failing to reinstate homes to the required standard as should happen when the Earthquake Commission Act is read in its entirety.

NZ Independent Coalition advocates for home ownership to be an acheivable primary goal for New Zealanders - owning our own home is part of who we are as New Zealanders and part of our character as a nation.

Sadly, the ability to realise this goal is increasingly becoming a major obstacle for young parents and first time home owners. We believe that everyone deserves the comfort of a good standard of accommodation.

NZIC also supports legislation to:

• Introduce a $1 for $1 grant up to $20,000 for first time home buyers for homes up to $450,000

• Ensure that the housing market is affordable, sustainable and achievable for first home buyers

• Review the affordability of housing insurance and ensure all homes are insured

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