“These people need to get a hotel room and get the housing crisis sorted. Maori are sick and tired, as are all New Zealanders, of the incessant blame game of who didn’t do what when they said they were going to it.” Matthew Tukaki, Executive Director of the New Zealand Maori Council.

The New Zealand Maori Council has said that people are sick and tired of the mess that is the New Zealand Housing sector and has called it deplorable that there is not a tit for tat blame game going on about the increasing waiting list for housing:

“The waiting list for public housing has been a pox on both their houses and, as a result, we are seeing it blow out to more than 14,000. That’s 14,000 kiwis waiting for a home which begs the question where are they living now? They are living on the streets, in car parks outside the supermarkets, packed into housing with whanau, motels and hotels. It’s a national disgrace that in a first world nation we have this sort of tragedy and crisis.” Tukaki said

“And it not just those on a benefit or pension – it’s also our working poor who cannot afford market rents or the bond to get into a house. They are barely making end’s meat, never have a chance to save for a deposit and so on. In other words, all we are doing is driving people further into poverty. When it comes to these numbers Maori are chief among the list.” Tukaki said

“What we need are viable and workable solutions that are agreed on no matter what the color of the Government may be – in other words we must start agreeing on the big stuff while they can still differentiate themselves in the eyes of the voters on other matters – but housing is not a game that these two major political parties should be playing when it comes to the lives of our people.” Tukaki said

“In March the Maori Council will be supporting a national housing summit. We want to get down to the nitty gritty of depth of the problem as well as more solutions one what we can be doing. In addition to this the Council is looking at models around land and housing bank so we can both open up land to social housing developments but also models around financing people on lower incomes into a first home. This, at the same time, as looking at the Loan to Value Ratio’s calculations and advocating strongly for a sustainable first homeowners deposit for first time buyers.” Tukaki said

“Whatever we do it must include both the affordable housing rental market and solid pathways to home ownership – and my warning to Government and the Opposition is to either get on the bus and come together or be taken on at the ballot box with an army of homeless people, their whanau and those on lower incomes with a baseball bat.” Tukaki said

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