National’s housing policy too little, too late

After years of denying there is a housing crisis and refusing to see government building as a solution, National’s U-turn today is too little too late, the Green Party said today.

“Auckland is already 40,000 homes short and needs 15,000 more a year just to keep up with population growth. National’s new policy to build an additional 26,000 homes over the next decade just isn’t enough to fix the problem,” Green Party Co-leader James Shaw said.

“It’s taken until election year for National to figure out that they can build houses, but this is only about half what the Unitary Plan allows Housing New Zealand to build if the government was more ambitious.

“National has missed an opportunity to really prioritise getting every Aucklander into a warm, dry home of their own.

“It’s good National has realised that the Government can actually build houses. Now they need to realise that knocking down 8,300 homes and replacing them with 34,000 homes isn’t actually enough.

“The Greens in Government will build tens of thousands more homes than National, and we’ll make many of them available for low income families to purchase over time with a rent-to-buy programme.

“The homes we build will actually be affordable, not National’s definition of affordable which actually isn’t for most people.

“National needs to remember that people live in the 8,300 old state homes they’re going to demolish, and kicking them out as collateral damage is not the way to solve the housing crisis.

“Lessons need to be learnt from the community outrage around the bungled Tāmaki housing redevelopment. People who live in these houses deserve to be treated fairly and with dignity,” Mr Shaw said.

Action

Protect Nature

Volunteer

The Greens are proud to be driven by passionate people like you. Today we need your help to take action on the biggest issues facing Aotearoa. Volu...

Action

Save Auckland's Climate Budget

Sign the petition to stop Mayor Wayne Brown's proposal for dangerous cuts to climate and environmental programmes that protect us from extreme weat...

Action

No New Mines 2023

Action

Expand Voting

Now more than ever, young people in Aotearoa are impacted by Government decisions, and they deserve to have a say. We are calling on all Members of...

Action

End Intensive Winter Grazing

Sign the petition to Labour Ministers, to move faster in bringing regulations into force and end intensive winter grazing.

Action

Trains for Climate

Add your name to our open letter urging the Minister for Finance Grant Robertson to save our passenger trains between Wellington, the Wairarapa and...

Action

Healthy Oceans 2022

Join our Healthy Oceans Crew to help us keep the health and protection of our oceans high on the Labour Government’s political agenda.

Action

It's time: A Ministry for Rainbow Communities

Join our call asking the Prime Minister to establish a Ministry for Rainbow Communities that can champion Rainbow issues.

Action

No new mines on conservation land

Sign the open letter asking Labour Ministers to stick to their promise of banning new mining projects on conservation land.

Action

Allow community ownership of our buses

Public transport is an essential service and helps to tackle the climate crisis by reducing our carbon emissions. But there are barriers to communi...

Action

Local Events

We have activists across Aotearoa / New Zealand who are working hard to build a brighter future for our kids and grandkids. This page lists upcomin...

Latest Housing Announcements

Story

Landlord Government leaves little hope for renters

The Government’s announcement on tenancy rules prove that it does not care about renters.

Greens call for strong public build programme following release of report

The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Gove...

Coalition of cruelty punishing people for being poor

Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma ...

Govt gets its priorities all wrong with Kāinga Ora review

The independent reviews of Kāinga Ora announced today should be focused primarily on building enough houses to make sure everyone has a warm, dry, ...

Public transport and housing must be prioritised from remnants of Let's Get Wellington Moving

The new government's decision to walk away from Let's Get Wellington Moving shows they are still tied to the failed approach of building more roads.

Only the Green Party will make life better for renters

Green Party co leader Marama Davidson spoke at a Fair Rents rally at the University of Auckland today.

Story

Waka Kotahi miss the boat on community needs for Waiheke ferry services

Auckland Central Green MP, Chlöe Swarbrick, this morning received a long awaited OIA with official advice and consultants’ reports on whether to re...

A new life for St James Theatre

After years of community organising, Green MP for Auckland Central Chlöe Swarbrick is thrilled to announce today alongside Deputy Prime Minister Ho...

Auckland flood response report requires urgent action

Auckland Central Green MP Chlöe Swarbrick welcomes the findings of the Auckland Flood Response Review and urges Council to not delay implementing t...

Greens launch submission guide for Auckland Council budget

The Green Party has today launched a submission guide to help Aucklanders give crucial input and prevent potentially disastrous Auckland Council bu...

Greens launch petition to stop Auckland Council climate action cuts

The Green Party has today launched a petition to stop Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown’s proposed cuts to climate and environmental programmes that prote...

Hauraki Gulf in urgent need of protection

The Green Party backs the demands of Forest and Bird and calls on the Government to take urgent action to restore the health of the Hauraki Gulf/Tī...

Story

Let’s build better, warmer, and climate-friendly

The Government must take steps to ensure that the way we build our homes is helping to meet New Zealand’s climate change targets, the Green Party s...

Sustainable buildings and warm dry homes

Everyone has the right to a warm, dry home. Instead, housing in Aotearoa often makes us sick from damp and cold. In Aotearoa, much of our housing s...

National would rather save landlords some cash than look after sick kids: Green Party

The National Party is more concerned about the back pocket of property investors than sick kids and the elderly, Green Party Co-leader Marama David...

Stop charging homeless people for emergency housing

The Green Party is calling for the Government to stop sending homeless people into thousands of dollars of debt with the Ministry of Social Develop...

Green Party: Building code out of date and won’t ensure warm, dry homes

In response to calls for a compulsory energy rating for buildings the Green Party is renewing calls for the building code to take better account of...

Green Party calling for bold steps to tackle issues in Salvation Army report

The Green Party agrees with the Salvation Army that bold new steps are needed to stop a worrying trajectory of increased rent rises and homelessnes...