No, Housing Minister Megan Woods isn’t joking, trumpeting the delivery of 12 homes via the Government’s Progressive Home Ownership Scheme as good progress.
Woods disclosed the figure to Parliament’s Social Services and Community Committee during questioning by National’s Nicola Willis on Tuesday.
Following the meeting, she tweeted a video on the Progressive Home Ownership Scheme, which prompted a barrage of criticism from people suggesting it must a joke or error. It isn’t.
Launched in July 2020, our Progressive Home Ownership Scheme has helped 12 families into their own new homes with more in the pipeline, & will get between 1,500 & 4,000 NZ families locked out of the housing market, into their own homes.#livestransformed @nzlabour pic.twitter.com/q4UX13Cxej
— Megan Woods (@Megan_Woods) February 23, 2021
While the Labour/Greens Confidence and Supply Agreement required the previous Coalition Government to deliver “innovative home ownership” like rent-to-buy or build-to-rent schemes, it took until a few months before the 2020 election for something to come into fruition.
In July 2020, Woods announced the Government was taking its first steps by loaning two community organisations a total of $23 million to upscale up their existing progressive home ownership offerings.
She said the Housing Foundation in Auckland would receive $17 million to deliver 78 homes mainly through its Shared Home Ownership Programme and Rent to Own offering.
And the Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust would be lent $6 million to deliver 25 homes through its Secure Home programme, which offers leasehold homes.
In October 2020, Woods announced Manawa Community Housing Trust - the housing arm of Ngā Pōtiki - would receive $7.2 million to construct 30 homes in Papamoa.
Each organisation can use its own criteria to determine eligibly for these homes.
Woods in July said work was underway to establish an initiative within Kāinga Ora for households to receive shared ownership support directly from the government.
She said this was expected to become available in “early 2021”. On Tuesday Woods confirmed the plan was still for this to occur this year, but didn’t say when.
The Government allocated $400 million to progressive home ownership when it did its KiwiBuild “reset” in September 2019.
As at January, 433 KiwiBuild homes had been sold in total. A further 296 were available to buy. The number of KiwiBuild houses sold each month rose in the latter half of 2020, as first-home buyer activity was up across the board.
Govt won't put a number on the housing shortage
Willis also put the pressure on Woods in the Committee meeting for not being able to put a figure on New Zealand’s housing shortage.
Woods argued it wasn’t helpful trying to pinpoint a number, with different economists’ and researchers’ forecasts on the matter varying wildly.
Woods noted the previous National-led Government didn’t put a figure on the shortage either.
Willis quizzed Woods on the matter in the House on Thursday too:
85 Comments
Incredibly transformational indeed. What was Jacinda’s famous quote that her generation was being locked out of housing. Now that she has a cushy home in one of Auckland’s most expensive suburbs, suddenly housing is no longer a real issue just a symbolic issue with head slants and worried looking frowns.
The things I fell in love with about life in New Zealand like its beautiful landscapes, quiet country roads, unspoiled beaches etc. will probably be so degraded by our approach to immigration and overdevelopment at any cost that I doubt I'll retire here.
As for the pitch forks, New Zealand is only heading in one direction under the neoliberal goverments it continues electing. The only difference between Labour and National is the former is "woke" and the latter "folksy", policy-wise they are the same party. Neither will ever, ever be genuine about reform.
So Squishy.. you're another victim of the PR machine then?? Heads up buddy - NZ has never been any of the things you listed, unless you look at DOC reserves and even that's debateable.
NZ embraced DDT, 245T, 1080, happily allowed/allows over-abstraction of water resources, etc, etc. The only thing that makes it look not too bad is there aren't many people here/Km2. NZ'rs are in fact some of the worst polluters per capita in the world. It's not the Govt's fault - the responsibility lies with the person looking back in the bathroom mirror
Hook,
I came here over 17 years ago from Scotland after I retired from business. I live very comfortably in Mount Maunganui and enjoy the life style, including tramping. We have a great network of huts. I am one of the lucky ones, but there's a nasty undebelly to life here.
Almost every apartment block here leaks and the standard of building is appalling. I have a brick and tile property, so have no issues,but why is this happening? The standard of driving is dreadful and the poor state of our infrastructure is increasingly self-evident.
Glad someone else thinks Nz's driving is bad.
My latest bugbear is following distance, many drivers in Auckland seem to think 3-5 meters is fine when driving at 80-90 mph...uber drivers are particularly bad, I have never been much of an Uber user, but I certainly won't go near one if the journey involves motorway travel...
Sadly those will go to? in the end.. to the most feared bug bear of all in NZ economic scene, an OZ Banks cartel.
In the end those with good IQ/EQ quotient ended up owning more/extracting $ to the ones below them, and for OZ? for sure you can also dig further who is above them.. etc.
This government replaced the lack-lustre Phil Twyford with Megan Woods. I'd read some glowing reports about Woods in the media, a heavy-hitter for this government apparently. I tend to look at results. I've also observed Woods when she fronts the media and she often has a 'possum in the headlights' look about her.
Maybe they were too hasty in replacing Twyford? He looks like a stellar performer next to Woods.
I was very young when the comedy TV show Gliding On was on the TV. For those who don't know, it was about the closeted, slippered, and unproductive lives of those working in the NZ public sector. In many ways, things never ever changed. Quite possibly got worse, except that they've got a more 'slick' PR person in the office.
Now, be kind Xing - with recent upgraded FTA? the NZ dear leader is expecting a call to provide further 'discount' on Sinovac vaccine, kids vaccine bile (to be distributed by the Warehouse).
Meanwhile, I personally suspect she's not taking the jab straight away as Morrison - err, may be another baby is on the way? - Remember, Lab & her got majority even from the ex Nat voters not just for a bail out reason, but also subsidising the profit (aka. stimulus to jump start).
There is only one thing worse than only 12 houses, that is trying to paint that number as an achievement.
Mind you, it does highlight that the asperations that Govt. has for us as a country.
Never mind that the largest homebuilder in the USA builds approx. 55,000 houses per annum.
A synopsis to save you time watching Wood's Question Time response on critical issue of housing shortage:
Woods: "Ha, ha, ha. Nobody knows how many houses short we are . . .could be 28,000 or it could be 200,000 . . . ha, ha, ha . . . National doesn't even know how many houses short . . . . ha, ha, ha . . . you couldn't count them . . . so, ha, ha, ha . . . so, National this is your problem . . . . ha, ha, ha . . no one knows, so no problem". Sits down self-congratulating herself and smiling like a Cheshire Cat.
I kind of got the impression she was quoting numbers in an accusatory way, and she doesn't realise that shes actually the one in the hot seat and is meant to be answering a question. It's bizarre and I question her cognitive abilities. Why is Labour full of pea-brains?
I know someone working in this area at MHUD, their internal processes sound a bit of a shambles but one of the biggest challenges they have are the Iwi chips providers (community housing) not wanting to follow due process. They expect to be able to given a fast track to getting the funding rather than jump through all the regulatory hoops the non-iwi applicants have to. A reliable source on the inside tells me they have been told to turn a blind eye and rubber stamp iwi funding applications.
Some people repeatedly claim Phil Twyford as the best housing minister in the history of this country. Bring him back then to promise you 300,000 houses this time round!
Anyone knows what happen to the new fuel taxes the government introduced? Where are the major transport and infrastructural projects? Where did the money go?
A lot of criticism but not a lot of suggestions or answers. The govt has made the money available , but it seems the uptake is slow, implementation slow too. Why is this ? could it be that people don't actually want this path to home ownership? is the capacity to build not there?
I suspect , but have no proof , that the organisations involved are genuinely trying to offer this to the people they think need it most , but many of them would prefer to continue renting vs a longterm tie to ownership . .
As I understand it , it reduces the deposit required to 60 % of the full price , yes still insurmountable to many.
But my experience with communal living / ownership is that people who want to own something , want to own it outright. Those that don't would rather pay more rent etc and be free to move on. Its still alot of money to come up with , to feel you don't totally own or control your home. Probably explains why even leasehold vs freehold struggles in NZ.
Watching the vid on mute without minister Woods nauseating voice is all the better. Well done for the family in their own home, but just 12 families since scheme announcement in 2019 is terrible. Woods should be ashamed and apologetic not trying to talk it up and lying like Trump
Fritz, put it this way: Ashley Church regularly says things that would result in him failing university level economics and finance courses. He often says things that would result in him failing statistics courses, philosophy or math courses (logical non-sequiturs) or anything involving hypothesis testing.
So yes, I would say he has a high school understanding of how markets work at best
Good to see the current pack of no hopers are consistent. 1/2 the "new" builds turn out to be new on paper only, the "Progressive Homeownership" is only progressing shiny arsed public servants salary and job security, and to top it off we now find a Mexican refugee needs priority access to MIQ on "National interest issues" after being refused as an "essential worker"
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/124347716/green-mp-ricardo-me….
Personally I'd lock the pillow-biting @rse bandit up for falsifying an MIQ application. Actually even better - I'd revoke his citizenship for just taking the P..s.
What a complete and utter joke.
She is being honest, if you want to compare to 9yrs of National trumpet noises.. crisis? what? no crisis, only 3% FB etc. - it is indeed easy to scream from the outside ring. Lab just continuing shadow boxing, Nat? actually dress up in Tutu to do ballerina dance in boxing ring.
C'mon guys - only 12, why? have you even consider the pricing? affordability? and compare it to OZ (anywhere but outside Syd & Mel, and off course not the top prime area). NZ is a dump place.
I'll will give Megan Woods some slack on this. If the money was only lent last year in Jul20 then to expect a lot more houses to be built in the time period is expecting too much. With the residential construction boom and Covids, nine months is probably the earliest one could expect a house to be built. A year is more likely. Add to that NGO's who claim to be able to supply housing and who may or may not have a reasonable knowledge of the building process and you've got another delay.
Wait for a full year and also see how many houses are in the pipeline then.
Currently here in NP there's around a four-six month delay in getting drawings from an architect or architectural designer ready for BC. That time scale is based on three enquiries. There are plenty of others. One is doing work for builders in Christchurch. It is one of those areas where remote working is feasible.
Religion since 1986 states government cannot borrow for investment (but can to support wages to prevent economic collapse) And RBNZ is not allowed to be told what to do by government. Put those 2 together and you get total gridlock on DOING anything fast in NZ, let alone solving a 30 year old problem
trangender birds would have more effect on the housing market given the same amount of cash which is why I am now a twitcher and think these politicians are all pigs in an animal farm. All that is left is the inevitable knackers for those too poor and ill and oh look the ineffectual health system has dropped another few balls as families beg for coroners reports.
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