Labour would commit to building 240 more houses for Hastings and Napier if elected, party leader Jacinda Ardern told a crowd at the Maraenui shopping centre this morning.
In Hawke's Bay to make this housing announcement as well as a family announcement later today, she said there was nothing more basic than getting housing right.
"Having a home is a right - just in this area there's maybe up to 1400 people who are homeless - either couch surfing or living in places that are not up to scratch.
"Home ownership is down in Napier by 10 per cent and there's 150 people on waiting lists for housing."
She noted the land just across from the Maraenui shopping centre had previously been a site of state houses that had since been taken down.