Public housing waiting list hits new high of 14,500 households
The recently released figure - recorded at the end of November - has more than doubled from the roughly 6000 individuals or families on the list shortly after the 2017 election. National is blaming Labour's housing policies and says the government has meddled in the rental market instead of building houses. But the minister responsible, Kris Faafoi, said the government had already delivered some 3300 public housing places, with another 2500 under construction. They were due to be completed by June, he said. The increase in demand was due in part to a culture change which meant people knew they would receive the help they need, he said. Faafoi added that Budget 2019 had included $197 million to strengthen and expand the Housing First programme. That funding would be able to support up to 2700 homeless whānau across New Zealand, he said. However, National's Associate Housing spokesperson Simon O'Connor said: "Labour was too quick to meddle in the rental market when it should have been focused on building houses.
"The reason we're in this mess today is because KiwiBuild tanked, Labour's new rental standards scared off landlords at the affordable end of the market, and its decision to end tenancy reviews increased pressure on social housing supply." If National were to get back into government at this year's election, it said it would "prioritise our most vulnerable Kiwis by throwing our weight behind community housing providers and introducing a target to reduce the time it takes MSD to house Priority-A clients on the social housing register". Faafoi said every New Zealander had a "right to a warm, dry, secure and safe place to live". "Homelessness is a complex and growing problem that will take a concerted and sustained effort by multiple agencies to ensure homelessness is both brief and non-recurring."
Demand by region
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Northland:524
Auckland:5326
Waikato:1494
Bay of Plenty:1120
East Coast:1405
Central:803
Taranaki:255
Wellington:1595
West Coast Tasman:510
Canterbury:1063
Southern:380
Other/unknown:21
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⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.
If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?
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61.9% Summer
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36.6% Winter
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1.5% Other - I'll share below
Worst Xmas ever?
There's a a lot of planning that goes into Christmas day and sometimes things just don't go to plan. But it can be a good thing - a family mishap or hilarious memory that you can laugh about in Christmases to come.
Whether you burnt the dinner or were stranded at an airport...
Share your Christmas mishaps below!
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