"Open Home" Highlights Poor Management and Privatisation of State Housing
The MANA Newtown Housing Group will hold an "open home" at 2pm Sunday 4 October at 29 Strathmore Ave.
The address is one of four State units in a block that has been vacant for at least six months.
The group is holding the open home to protest at the poor management and sale of State housing. It says that rather than
taking a $186 million
dividend from Housing New Zealand and proposing to sell off job lots of State homes, the Government should be repairing
and upgrading its housing
stock to cope with the national housing crisis.
On last census night 13,000 people were homeless and 6000 were sleeping rough. In Wellington City, despite the upgrade
of Council housing the total
number of Council housing units has decreased. In addition Housing New Zealand has sold or demolished at least two major
blocks of units in the last three years.
Instead of trying to solve the housing crisis the Government is selling off its deteriorating housing stock like a bad
landlord, says spokesperson, Warwick Taylor.
The group will also be involved in the hikoi to Parliament on 13 October, organised by the State Housing Action Network
to oppose the sale of State houses.
ENDS