Privatisation of HNZ housing
I'm not opposed to house owners wanting to sell their homes, but I
do oppose any sale of state owned houses, being sold against the
support of the majority. These are assets that have been built up over generations and belong to us, the people
of NZ.
When the Government decides that they no longer
wish to hold the responsibility of housing its constituents that are in
need of this very necessity, then we have a problem that
can very quickly turn into a major disaster, for many of the most
vulnerable in our society who have been the tenant/s and in some cases
the tenant for many years in these houses, which they have come to
consider as their home.
Along with this decision
to sell comes the stress, strain, and unbearable pressure put on the most
needy. Their families to have to
cope with this upheaval and with no thought given to the consequences
of such a decision. Eviction notices, moving away from your community,
children changing schools, sports clubs, churches are but a few of the
major changes being heaped on these tenants affected. For some like our
elderly it has proven to have been just too much to bare and who have
sadly passed on since being moved from their home in Glen Innes where
this very unjust action is taking place right now.
As
a home owner who has lived in this vibrant community for over 35 years I
am saddened by what is taking place here and I stand firm in my
commitment to support the HNZ tenants in this community and their
struggle to try and stay in their homes.
The
National government relieving itself of its responsibility to house
those in need and the selling of our state homes is effectively
privatising state housing.
Where is the protection for not just the present HNZ tenants but all
future tenants. Passing this responsibility onto other social housing
providers whether they be churches, Iwi groups, or the Salvation Army leaves
little or no real safe guard for anyone who may need help when it comes
to housing. Privatising the housing sector just means yet another avenue
for the filthy rich to get richer yet again at the expense of the most
vulnerable.
We the people of NZ need to stop this
in its tracks before it becomes the catalyst for all of this governments
duty of care for its citizens.
Lisa Gibson
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