State Housing matters

All state house tenants, regardless of age or disability, will find themselves subject to the government’s new policy of reviewing state house tenancies.

### NZ Herald Online 11:45 AM Wednesday Mar 19, 2014
Elderly, disabled included in state house review
By Simon Collins
More than one in five of the first 780 state house tenants facing possible eviction under a new Government policy will be elderly or disabled. A paper taken to Cabinet last month by Housing Minister Nick Smith and Social Development Minister Paula Bennett reveals that the two ministers have decided not to exempt the elderly and disabled from the new policy of reviewing all state house tenancies, ending the previous policy that a state house was “a home for life”.
The full paper, placed on the Social Development Ministry website last week included a detailed breakdown showing that 20 per cent of the first batch of tenants to be reviewed would be 65 or over and 27 others would be “permanently and severely disabled”. The paper was later removed and an edited version was subsequently posted with the breakdown of affected tenants deleted.
The controversial policy is intended to “shift expectations away from social housing for life to social housing for the duration of housing need”. It takes effect after the Social Development Ministry takes over allocating social housing from Housing NZ on April 14, and the first affected tenants will be notified before the end of next month.
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█ Cabinet paper on state house tenancies

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### ODT Online Tue, 18 Mar 2014
Fewer Kiwis own their own homes
The number of homeowners in New Zealand continues to fall, with less than half of all Kiwis owning their own property, new Census figures show. In 2013, 49.8 per cent of people aged 15 years and over owned or partly owned the home they lived in, compared with 53.2 per cent in 2006, according to census results released by Statistics New Zealand today. 2013 Census Quickstats about housing, which contains detailed information about New Zealand’s housing stock, also reveals trends in the number, type, and size of the dwellings we are living in. APNZ
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█ 2013 Census QuickStats about national highlights

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

*Image: APN – State Housing

Dunedin’s social housing need —they built a bastard stadium

Dunedin civic leaders built a ‘bastard stadium’ instead of making the conscious decision to look after our most vulnerable citizens.

The increasing cost of private rental accommodation in Dunedin has seen the demand for social housing rise during the past six months, with Housing New Zealand housing one family a day during that time.

The amount of money people needed just to get in the front door of a private rental was out of reach for many families.
–Nicola Taylor, Anglican Family Support

### ODT Online Sun, 2 Mar 2014
State housing in demand
By Tim Miller – The Star
Unaffordable rental property in Dunedin is driving lower-income families into social housing, with one property manager saying the situation could get worse if rental properties are required to lift their standards.
Increased demand has seen the waiting list of families waiting for one of Dunedin’s 1451 state houses increase to 64.
Read more

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### radionz.co.nz Friday 28 February 2014
Nine to Noon with Kathryn Ryan
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon
09:08 Revised statistics reveal true extent of elderly poverty
Roy Reid, president Grey Power New Zealand Federation; and Jonathan Boston, professor of public policy at Victoria University and co-chair of the Expert Advisory Group on Solutions to Child Poverty.
Audio | Download: Ogg   MP3 ( 23:33 )

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The Accommodation Supplement available to low income people and beneficiaries has not been raised for NINE YEARS.

This fact, of course, doesn’t and won’t stop upwardly mobile Dunedin landlords (many of them absentee) seeking capital gains and higher rents, while exercising tax avoidance under current legislation —there are insufficient casual, part-time and full-time jobs available in the city to service increasingly high rents (income poverty). With the result Dunedin renters in genuine need are being severely squeezed — this impacts on the health and wellbeing of individuals, couples and families, placing a long-term cost burden on the rest of society. Not surprisingly, the number of homeless people is rising. Meanwhile, the mayor, the council chief executive and friends are skooting off to China on junkets, in the time-honoured tradition of the Old Dunedin CARGO CULT.

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Accommodation Supplement is a weekly payment which helps people with their rent, board or the cost of owning a home.

You may get an Accommodation Supplement if you:
• have accommodation costs
• are aged 16 years or more
• are a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident
• normally live in New Zealand and intend to stay here
• are not paying rent for a Housing New Zealand property.

It also depends on:
• how much you and your spouse or partner earn
• any money or assets you and your spouse or partner have.

How much you will get on the Accommodation Supplement will depend on:
• your income
• your assets
• your accommodation costs
• your family circumstances
• where you live.

For more information go to:
http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/individuals/a-z-benefits/accommodation-supplement.html

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

*Image: odt.co.nz – State Housing (re-imaged by whatifdunedin)

Wellington Towards 2040

Forming the “digital powerhouse”…

Wellington’s biggest assets are its compact form, its harbour setting and the quality of life. It also boasts a highly skilled population with the highest incomes in the country.

### idealog.co.nz 29 Sept 2011 @ 11:13 am
Wellington’s new 30-year vision
By Design Daily Team
Last night Wellington City Council unanimously agreed on a long term vision for the city, one that will have sustainability, digital saviness and innovation at its core. Wellington Mayor Celia Wade-Brown said the strategy, called Wellington Towards 2040: Smart Capital, would underpin and guide all Council strategies across economic, environmental, social, technology, transport and other key issues.

The four goals identified by the council are:

• People-centred city – the aim is to be healthy, vibrant, affordable, resilient, have a strong sense of identity, and strong and healthy communities.

• Connected city – this is connectedness in every sense: physical, virtual or social. Strategies like the Digital Strategy fall under this.

• Eco-city – this is a response to all the environmental challenges the city faces over the coming decades, and the Council is confident [it] can lead the country by example.

• Dynamic central city – this section largely deals with urban design aspects of the central city – making sure it’s still a great place to be where new ideas happen – and maintaining its role as the creative and innovative force to drive the regional economy.

Read more

WCC Report (15 September 2011)

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

“Tradition in architecture conveys the kind of practical knowledge that is required by neighbourliness.”

Thanks to ro1 for the following article, published by The Journal of the American Enterprise Institute:

### http://www.american.com Sat, 19 Dec 2009
The High Cost of Ignoring Beauty
By Roger Scruton
Architecture clearly illustrates the social, environmental, economic, and aesthetic costs of ignoring beauty. We are being torn out of ourselves by the loud gestures of people who want to seize our attention but give nothing in return.
In Britain, the state, in the form either of local or central government, will tell you whether you can or cannot build on land that you own. And if it permits you to build, it will stipulate not only the purposes for which you may use the building, but also how it should look, and what materials should be used to construct it. Americans are used to building regulations that enforce utilitarian standards: insulation, smoke alarms, electrical safety, the size and situation of bathrooms, and so on. But they are not used to being told what aesthetic principles to follow, or what the neighbourhood requires of materials and architectural details. I suspect that many Americans would regard such stipulations as a radical violation of property rights, and further evidence of the state’s illegitimate expansion.
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Roger Scruton is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. He is a writer, philosopher, and public commentator, and has written widely on aesthetics, as well as political and cultural issues.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr