Tararua housing and staffing issues under spotlight

Kieran McAnulty: "The housing crisis is going to take time to turn around, and issues like Covid-19 do add complexities."

Companies feeling the pressure of staff and supply shortages have been told the issues won't be solved overnight.

Wairarapa MP Kieran McAnulty acknowledged businesses in the Tararua district were struggling to find staff.

He said in the last quarter, unemployment had dropped to pre-Covid levels.

Ministry of Social Development figures show in the district, 771 were on the Jobseeker Benefit.

In Dannevirke, on average, 10 Dannevirke jobs were advertised on Work and Income job boards a month.

The total for the year from September 1, 2020, to August 31, 2021, was 110.

Regional commissioner Graham Allpress said there was demand for staff around Dannevirke.

"We are aware nearby meat processing plants, for example, have ongoing vacancies and the facilities are sometimes not able to operate at full capacity."

MSD worked with employers to connect people to sustainable jobs and the employment team offered a range of services and programmes to help with this.

Allpress said there was a work broker who managed the Dannevirke area working with employers and jobseekers to source jobs, match people to roles and provide a range of follow-up support to ensure people could stay in jobs.

He said an average of three or four people applied for vacancies, but if they weren't successfully filled after three weeks, the vacancies were removed.

Wairarapa MP Kieran McAnulty said unemployment figures had been the lowest in the OECD in the last quarter.

"While this is to be celebrated, it does mean that some businesses are struggling to find the workers they need, especially industries with a seasonal element.

"We are balancing a secure border with providing exemptions for industries that are struggling to find staff and where there are skills shortages to bring in overseas workers.

"This is obviously on pause at the moment, but once MIQ resumes, these workers will be able to come in."

Some businesses in the region felt a lack of affordable housing was part of the problem when trying to attract applicants.

While there was no social housing under Kainga Ora, Allpress said there were other options.

However, there are people on waiting lists with the social housing register showing around 50 listed in the Tararua district last quarter.

Allpress said there was a major programme of work under way aimed at increasing the supply of public housing and improving housing affordability and supply.

He said if a person was experiencing accommodation difficulties, such as potential homelessness, they were urged to call MSD.

"You don't need to be currently receiving a benefit to do this and we will discuss with them ways we may be able to help."

McAnulty said the housing crisis had been decades in the making and was not going to be solved overnight.

Issues with supply shortages and housing fed into other sectors, such as employment.

"These issues do not exist in a vacuum, and so we cannot simply ignore the effects that Covid-19 is having on housing and employment."

McAnulty said in addition to increasing public housing, the Government was working to ensure infrastructure was no longer a barrier to increasing housing supply through the Housing Acceleration Fund, which would incentivise new builds to increase supply and dampen speculative activity to give first-time home buyers a better shot at ownership.