Plus 4,000 transitional homes
The New Zealand government has announced a major milestone – it has successfully delivered more than 12,000 additional public homes since October 2017, bringing the overall total of public homes to 78,251.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins (pictured above left) said the Labour’s fast pace of delivery on public housing meant that on a yearly basis, the current government is delivering the most public homes since the second Labour government in the 1950s.
“One in seven of all public homes in New Zealand have now been delivered by this government,” Hipkins said. “This is an impressive achievement, even more so when you consider that nearly 10,000 of them are brand-new, warm, dry homes.”
He said the Labour’s home building programme has provided warm, healthy homes, created jobs, and supported the economy over recent years, with 22,000 people involved in the programme.
Housing Minister Megan Woods (pictured above right) said Labour has rebuilt the public housing stock in just six years “after National left New Zealand with 1,500 fewer public homes than it started with and failed to invest in new ones.”
“The extraordinary pace of delivery from both Kāinga Ora and community housing providers under this government is evident in communities across New Zealand,” Woods said. “Every region of New Zealand has more public homes than when we became the government.”
Neighbourhoods like Mangere and Mt Roskill in Auckland to areas like Palmerston North and Invercargill were getting more public homes for the first time in many years – new builds, the housing minister said, that meet the government’s Healthy Home Standards for insulation, heating, and ventilation.
“By July 2024 it’s expected that all public housing will meet the standards,” Woods said.
Since October 2017, the government has also delivered 4,000 transitional homes with wrap-around social and health services, bringing the number of places available in April to 5,910.
“Public housing is a vital part of our social support system that provides people at risk of homelessness or overcrowded housing with a stable and affordable place to live,” Woods said. “This is not just about meeting the cost of a physical home, but also the ongoing rent support for people in public housing.”
In addition to the 18,000 public and transitional houses that will be delivered by the end of 2024, Woods said a further 3,000 public homes will be built by June 2025, as announced in budget 2023.
An updated public housing plan will soon be released for the additional 3,000 homes that will focus on increasing public housing in regions with high need.
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