Whanganui's Labour Party branch wants Housing New Zealand to go back to providing housing services for people in need, its chairman and deputy chairman say.
Craig Paynter and Bob Dempsey were reacting to Wanganui Chronicle stories about unmet housing need.
They said on the one hand there appeared to be houses to spare, with Housing NZ offering them to flood victims and Social Development Minister Paula Bennett making them available to Auckland people. But recent reports showed a different reality - 25 up for sale and six available while 19 families were at risk or in immediate need.
They noted Housing NZ didn't make empty houses available to the Wanganui Housing Trust when asked, and didn't have a Whanganui office where people could walk in and talk to staff without an appointment.
"The present situation is unacceptable, and it is time for change," Mr Paynter said.
He'd like to see solidly built state houses renovated, insulated and occupied, rather than being sold "to provide a dividend to the Government".