PSA MEDIA RELEASE

10 May 2012 - For Immediate Use

Housing New Zealand tenants pay the price for frontline cuts

The PSA says Housing New Zealand tenants are now paying the price for ill-considered government policy which has seen regional frontline services replaced with a cheaper centralised service which isn’t working.

Housing New Zealand closed a number of local offices around the country last month to set up a centralised national call centre, with the loss of up to 70 frontline positions. The call centre has been swamped and there have been long delays for callers who can no longer go to their neighbourhood office for face-to-face advice.

“This is a classic case in which cuts to frontline services are leading to poorer services,” says PSA National Secretary Richard Wagstaff.

Since 2008 Housing New Zealand has lost more than 200 positions.

“We now have this illogical situation where experienced staff in the regions are losing their jobs but Housing New Zealand is recruiting call centre staff to replace them”.

“There is also a social cost. As a social landlord, Housing New Zealand has a unique duty of care to its tenants, but shutting down local offices and only talking to clients through a national call centre, undermines that”.

Housing New Zealand has played a vital role in linking tenants up to other social services.

“That’s the type of service that cannot be delivered simply through a call centre and it’s often the most vulnerable people who will now be disadvantaged,” Mr Wagstaff says.

It’s clear that the government and Housing New Zealand are more interested in cost-cutting than providing more efficient, linked-up public services.

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