Housing Minister Megan Woods. Photo / Sylvie Whinray
Housing Minister Megan Woods. Photo / Sylvie Whinray
Housing Minister Megan Woods has hit back at accusations of "slow progress" in the public housing sector, launching a scathing review of National's tenure when she said stock overall declined by more than 1500 homes.
"We are in a public housing crisis because for a decade we did not add to our public housing stock," Woods told the Social Services and Community Committee today.
Woods said the Government had by contrast added 9500 public homes since 2017.
However, when pressed Woods was unable to provide any information about when real inroads in the ballooning social housing waiting list would occur.
There are just over 27,000 applicants on the public housing waiting list - about five times the number in June 2017.
Green Party social development and employment spokesman Ricardo Menéndez March said the new building was positive, but asked when they expected to see demand fall away.
Woods said she had not seen any modelling on this.
"When you have as many as we have you just have to keep on building housing."
National Party housing spokesman Chris Bishop questioned the speed of the building, and whether the Government was on track to deliver the more than 18,000 public and transitional housing places by 2024 announced last year.
National housing spokesman Chris Bishop. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Woods said she did not accept there had been "slow delivery". There had been more than 1000 new net public homes added in the year to date.
Woods said while some homes were being destroyed they needed to do so to "get more out of the land we own".
Woods then listed totals from some of the National Party's years in government.
"In June 2014 there were 674 fewer houses, the year before there were 486 fewer, the year before that 282.
"Then in June 2015, there were 744 fewer than the year before. What we can see is this Government has a programme... it is about demolishing, not selling, but to build new public housing."
Woods said she was "confident" of hitting the 2024 target.
"But I don't think everything will be solved by then. It will have been seven years since 2017 but we are making up for the nine years preceding. You cannot fix that kind of damage overnight."
Woods also revealed since July 1, 2017, to May 31, 2022, Kāinga Ora had purchased 182.25 hectares of land and sold 19.01ha.
She also detailed specific progress in Rotorua, which has been feeling acute housing pressures.
Woods said the population there had grown by about 9000 since mid-2013 just over 1500 new homes had been consented since then.
"That shortfall is driving up rents," Woods said.
Between 2001 and 2014 rents increased by 3 per cent annually. Since then they have increased by 7 per cent annually.
As part of the Government's response they had instigated a housing hub which helped people in need find temporary accommodation along with providing wraparound health and social services.
Meanwhile, Kāinga Ora had delivered 73 new builds and another 292 were under constriction or planned with community housing providers and iwi.
Woods said more land was being opened up for housing along with investments in infrastructure.
On Healthy Homes standards, Woods said 51.54 per cent of the more than 70,000 houses in Kāinga Ora stock were up to standard. The state landlord has until July 1, 2023 to make sure all of its homes are compliant.
Woods was also asked about recent progress at Ihumātao, where there had previously been plans to build 480 homes.
A group has nearly been appointed to decide on the future of the whenua, originally confiscated from mana whenua, but is expected to take at least another five years to reach a decision.
Woods wouldn't put a time expectation on the work nor commit to houses being built there.
