The Government will also look at moving on singles or couples who stay in their three, four and five-bedroom state homes long after children have left home.
Incentives would initially be offered to those people to either buy the house, or move into a smaller state house or private accommodation. But those who refuse to budge may be forced to do so.
"Apart from the vulnerable and elderly, there may be some compulsion around that," Mr Heatley said.
Yet Housing New Zealand has been spectacularly unsuccessful at moving on 3 Pomare families who presumably have broken their tenancy agreements. And this is just one high profile incident.
The house tenancies are in the names of the women. Housing New Zealand had served them with notices to quit their Farmer Cres homes about 18 months ago but the three women and their 13 children remain in the houses while legal action continues.
So I had another 'yeah right' moment when I read about National's promised 'tough' stance.
The tragedy is there are many, many vulnerable people living in state housing areas. People whose grasp on reality is tenuous. Mentally ill, de-institutionlised, isolated people who are forced to live alongside criminals, those in between prison spells. Amongst domestic violence and sometimes depravity. People who were humanely moved 'into the community' under the faulty assumption that all communities are kind and supportive.
Perhaps more pepper-potting would help but really, like welfare, it isn't policy settings as much as the very existence of these state monoliths.
2 comments:
Pretty clear that the best outcomes can be quite easily achieved - evict all state house tenants, bulldoze the houses (or dynamite the flatblocks) and hand the land over to the highest private bidder.
Oh yes, better stop the so-called "housing benefit" too.
Problems solved.
I would wager that no or practiaclly no rent has been paid on those Farmer Crescent properties either while this has been going on.
Post a Comment