Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is in complete denial about her Government’s failure over housing and its consequences, National’s Housing Spokesperson Chris Bishop says.

“The appalling scenes of intimidation, violence, misery and crime in emergency housing in Rotorua, showed on TVNZ’s Sunday programme, starkly illustrate the Government’s utter failure on housing after five years in office.

“If this was not enough, the Prime Minister’s response to the story was beyond belief. Ms Ardern told Breakfast on Monday that motels were not meant to be a long-term solution, but that her Government made a clear decision because it did not want children living in cars.

“As National revealed last month, the number of children living in cars has risen by almost 350 per cent between the end of 2017, when Labour came to Government and June 2022.

“Emergency housing is a social and economic disaster that the Government has simply put in the too hard basket. Since 2017 the Government has spent a staggering $1 billion housing people in motels.

“Former Housing Minister Phil Twyford used to say $90,000 per day on motels was too much. Now the Government spends $1 million per day, writing big cheques and simply walking away.

“Emergency housing is great for motel owners who have made millions but appalling for vulnerable people who need help and support as the example of Rotorua demonstrates.

“Jacinda Ardern came to power promising to fix New Zealand’s housing crisis. Five years on, rents are up $140 per week, the waitlist for a state house has increased by over 20,000 people, 8000 families live in motels, while the number of people living in cars has quadrupled.

“Instead of focusing on easing constraints to get homes built, Labour has focused on the KiwiBuild hoax and tax changes like the removal of interest deductibility that actually create more pressure on emergency housing.

“The time for excuses from Labour is over.

“The Government should be urgently working with housing providers around the country to get people into transitional housing with wraparound support and partnering with the community housing sector to get new social houses built.”

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