housing need queried
overcrowded conditions, issues which led to the creation of an emergency housing system in the first place.
“If they want to genuinely reduce the need, they need to build houses,” he said.
Potaka, who made the announcement at a new Kainga Ora build in Hamilton, described emergency housing as a “moral, fiscal and social catastrophe” and “one of the biggest public policy failures we’ve ever seen in New Zealand”.
He said the Government’s new priority one category (which puts households with children spending longer than 12 weeks in emergency housing to the top of the social housing list) helped 540 whānau out of emergency housing, as of July.
The drop in numbers was achieved by increasing social housing supply, continuing and expanding on support products, and ensuring those accessing emergency housing were in genuine need, he said.
He said the next step was introducing clearer obligations for emergency housing assistance, which began on August 26.
Details of the new rules were first revealed by RNZ on Friday after a tenants advocate raised the alarm, saying people were facing evictions.
The Ministry of Social Development confirmed anyone staying in emergency housing longer than a week would need to meet certain obligations each week. After two warnings, people would be cut off from emergency housing for 13 weeks.
Obligations included paying a contribution towards housing (according to Work and Income, this is currently 25% of income after tax), engaging with support services and making efforts to get other housing.
People may also be asked to attend a course or meet with a housing broker, Potaka said yesterday.
“Ending the blight that is emergency housing will not be easy. It requires us to take bold and radical action, and that’s exactly what our Government is doing,” he said.
The Government signalled changes to the emergency housing system – which costs about $340 million a year – in March.
Christchurch motels have earned tens of millions of dollars in emergency accommodation grants over the years.
Between January and October 2023, the Airport Lodge Motel came out on top for earnings, at about $958,000, or $229 per night on average.