The Green Party has come out and said that the Government's refusal to set minimum warrant of fitness standards for rental homes is causing New Zealand children to get sick.
Co-leader, Metiria Turei referred to a whānau who lived in a mouldy, damp house and adds “Te Ao Marama Wensor and her family should never have been expected to live in a house that’s infested with pink and black mould – no New Zealand family should be,”
“By refusing to bring in minimum standards for warmth, dryness and safety in rental properties, Bill English and Paula Bennett are saying that these kinds of houses are okay by them and okay by this Government.
“That is absolutely shameful in 21st-century New Zealand. A comprehensive, transparent warrant of fitness system would be invaluable in situations like this. “It would mean that all houses would have to be warm, dry and safe to be deemed fit to live in."
Turei then goes on to say that “National’s refusal to adopt comprehensive minimum standards, beyond the paltry insulation and smoke alarm provisions they’ve offered up, will mean more Kiwis living in rotting, mouldy homes, and more children getting sick or dying because of it.”