Editorial: We can help fill housing gap now

Aaron Houghton loves his car, but would prefer a home. Homeless. PHOTO/Stephen Parker

Whose responsibility is it to make sure people have a roof over their heads?

Many people - including Te Ururoa Flavell and Monty Morrison - think it's the Government's. I agree.

While individuals have a personal responsibility to help themselves and their families, ultimately, our government is responsible for ensuring citizens have a basic standard of living.

New Zealand is not a third-world country and people living in cars and on the streets, and crushed into garages should never become an accepted part of life.

But even if we all agree the Government needs to do more, does that mean others shouldn't step in to fill the breach in the meantime?

Today we report Apumoana Marae is keen to offer sanctuary to a local family, as its way of helping look after its community.

Marae spokesman Eraia Kiel said, in the past, the marae was a place for the less fortunate to take shelter.

It is willing, and apparently able, to help at least one family at a time - which may be a drop in the ocean when looking at the problem as a whole but could mean the world to that family.

The marae committee sees a dire need so is stepping up in the absence of any other immediate solution to the problem.

I recall the same argument when free school lunches were a hot topic.

Some were adamant feeding kids was the parents' responsibility, not that of the government or the taxpayers.

Which is all very well. But what about those starving kids whose parents just weren't feeding them?

Did we let children go hungry to prove a point? No. I think the same logic applies here.

Yes, the Government needs to urgently address the situation but in the meantime there are people without a roof to keep them warm and dry.

At least Apumoana Marae, like many other groups and individuals in our community, are trying to make a tangible difference in the here and now.

Without the community helping itself, imagine how much worse things could be.