Leader of the Mana Party, Hone Harawira says foreigners should be blocked from buying homes here in NZ. Harawira was part of the NZ Housing summit held this weekend in Auckland where around 50 people gathered discussed the state of housing for the most vulnerable in our country. Ripeka Timutimu has this story.
Hone Harawira and Winston Peters are polar opposites when it comes to politics, but there's one thing they do agree on.
Harawira says, “Although we don't agree on many issues, we both agree on the issue to stop selling houses to someone else.
State housing was on the agenda at the New Zealand Housing summit and Harawira warned some iwi were buying state houses for the wrong reasons.
Harawira says, “Some iwi are buying houses for commercial gain and increasing their profit margins. I am disgusted to learn about this.”
The latest figures from Barfoot and Thompson shows Auckland house prices are increasing with the average sale price nearly topping $900,000. Otara locals say home ownership is a gamble.
Housing NZ currently has around 63,000 houses on its books. 34% of its tenants are Māori. The President of the MWWL says goverment housing policy needs a shakeup.
Prue Kapua says, “It’s a bit deceptive, at the end of the day you have to say yes we have people in rental accommodation. The State is going to provide for them and how is that going to help families function really well.”
“The Crown are passing laws enabling them to evict the poor from these houses so they can sell these houses. What's that about?” says Harawira.
Unfortunately for some, owning a home will remain a dream unfulfilled as house prices continue to rise.