Nats and their mouthpieces are upset. Hooton raving, whale lost direction and beached and even the penguin making an idiot of himself.
It is an absolute lie to say National is reviewing all state house tenancies. The policy clearly says only *new* tenancies will be placed on periodic review.
I’m going to accept Heatley’s word. He is the Minister after all. From Q + A.
PHIL Well, yes, and the second step. So the first step is for any new tenant from the 1st of July this year. After the election if we’re re-elected, we’re going to be rolling this out for current tenants. .
Even Heatley on Q and A does not say they are rolling it out for ALL state housing tenants. But Labour’s leaflet did. Probably better to stick to policy, aye?
Whoops – and the critics who run the tired meme about Labour having “no policy” trip over their own. That’s what happens when you make it up as you go along!
As for the whale beaching (should that be “bitching”?) and the penguin… I love it
Are they all liars?
Are they all just BS artists?
Sad but apparently true
Seems clear, first they will review new tenants then, post election, they will review existing tenants.
There will be strong words flying around Keys advisor’s over Heatley letting the cat out of the bag early.
Is he too honest to belong to Keys cabinet?
Once before he did the right thing and resigned when Key was ‘relaxed’ about his misdemeanour
Nice to see that you had the guts to really take the fight to them. Well Done.
What about the letters to mother’s on benefits. Ignoring the fact that due to the wording you’re implying that working mothers are apparently bad mothers (which is the final straw for turning my lifelong and rather tribal Labour mother into voting Green this year), you’ve flat out lied about National Party Policy.
Sending mother’s back to work when their second child (something you didn’t mention) is one year old was the Welfare Commission’s policy. National publicly said they didn’t agree with that. National policy is five. But oh no, that doesn’t stop Labour because who really cares about truth and facts?
Labour started off with a strong campaign, a good campaign. I I genuinely thought you guys might pull yourself up to 35% The Party’s behaviour in the last two weeks though has been disgusting and I think at this rate of dirty politik you’re going to end up less than 10% in front of the Greens.
And that is not all. Late publishing of Education Policy is mean and content destructive.
@ianmac , very true , they really are a deceitful bunch on the right..
Interestingly the release of their education “policy” is less policy than an outline of broad concepts they might do. Tolley has admitted they don’t know yet what criteria they want in the personality tests.
Beware TVNZ debate, Nats will have used last night as the warm up, tvnz has the bigger audience, and Nats will revert to attacking Goff on “numbers”.
Could Goff please make a statement about how it’s ok to borrow 120m a week for tax cuts that did nothing to stimulate the economy but not okay to borrow to feed children, get them to doctors. If Key throws the “borrow from China” in bad borrowing climate can Goff PLEASE shoot back with “who have you been borrowing your money from John, to give the top1% a smoother ride?
@ bob, looks like a CT rejig of the republican ‘death squads’ line in the US, to me. The tories pay big money for this kind of diversionary attack advice.
@Jennifer, “seems to me” to be another hysterical tactic by Labour, to deliberately upset and scare people with no factual basis. I guess when you’re desperate……
@bob aj – yes its seems to happen the closer we get to the election, a cynical man might believe that the complaints and emotions of the people upset by these grubby tactics and falsehoods are just “collateral damage”.
Disraeli: “Sending mother’s back to work when their second child (something you didn’t mention) is one year old was the Welfare Commission’s policy…..National publicly said they didn’t agree with that.
Well someone has crossed wires. It is National Policy. They say mother on a benefit who has another child must get a job or be work ready. You are surely not implying that Key/Bennett are lying?
The leaflet is correct.
In Wanganui I attended a meeting of advocates who were told by a Housing NZ manager that staff numbers were going to be cut by half next year when the changes come into effect. The Labour candidate Hamish McDouall challenged the electorate MP (National’s Chester Borrows)about this and was told that “no decisions” had been made by HNZ yet. Someone is not telling the truth and I am more inclined to believe the staff who have already been told that half the jobs are going. I suspect the formal “announcement” about job losses will be made next week.
Dave, what do you think the difference is between “new” tenants” and “current” tenants. In the context of PH’s statement above he clearly sees them as two separate groups?
“n May, over a 1,000 people queued for hours for 140 jobs at a supermarket in Hamilton. In September, another 1,000 people applied for 170 supermarket jobs in the Christchurch suburb of Ilam.”
Yup, people on benefits just don’t try to get jobs.
The Tamaki Transformation Project was never intentioned to boot out current residents in favour of “new residents”. It was meant to become a new model for developing and growing communities.
The Nats have now twisted this into some sort of perverse BS designed to kick out those who have earned the right to live in the area and replace them with their mates.
Where do all the families, Phil Heatley and his jackbooted nasties throw out, to go?
This is a deliberate calculated attack on the 45 percent of the population who live in the area — namely Pacific Islanders.
We are now one step short of the dawn raids resuming.
Brownlee said that current tenants will be offered the opportunity to purchase with a $15,000 suspensory loan, and that those who don’t take up this offer still won’t be affected because they’ll be “grantparented”. He then went on, though, that the “grantparenting” would only last for three years, which means market rent for everyone from this point on. This is the point.
Obviously the last battle was Labour winning the fight to retain income related rent housing – National had tried to market rent all state housing with the broadbased accomodation supplement (National was then capable of moving to transfer the entire stock to private owners).
Now National is responding with a plan to move market rent capable tenants (already paying market rates via their income rated payment) out of taxpayer owned property. Either allowing them to buy or, as Chris noted, moving to charge market rents – little change from income related rent for the waged person, but a technicality that facilitates a sale to a private owner who is not the tenant.
I’m not that fussed about this – or moves to organise more effective use of stock capacity. Selling property with unused and valuable land to afford new building or building upgrade is sensible.
However the real battle is to ensure an increase in the total stock – so that public housing keeps up with population increase, an aging demographic and need consequent from an increasing number of sick and work incapacitated people – as occurs with a growing underclass and wealth disparity, housing in the marketplace becomes more unaffordable for the poor. Key should really be attacked in this area.
“However the real battle is to ensure an increase in the total stock – so that public housing keeps up with population increase, an aging demographic and need consequent from an increasing number of sick and work incapacitated people – as occurs with a growing underclass and wealth disparity, housing in the marketplace becomes more unaffordable for the poor. Key should really be attacked in this area.”
I agree wholeheartedly. In Auckland alone there is a dwindling housing stock which will drive up home prices and rents.
This seems akin tot heir welfare policy of forcing people to get jobs that don’t exist with punishment in place, and getting people to move out of accommodation to other accommodation which may or may not exist or be affordable.
There is no doubt in my mind that National will lead our next Government which is more reason to be holding their feet to the fire now.