{"id":29945,"date":"2021-01-06T14:36:11","date_gmt":"2021-01-06T01:36:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/propertynoise.co.nz\/au\/?p=29945"},"modified":"2024-03-01T20:47:48","modified_gmt":"2024-03-01T07:47:48","slug":"new-zealands-housing-crisis-poses-big-test-for-jacinda-ardern","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/propertynoise.co.nz\/au\/new-zealands-housing-crisis-poses-big-test-for-jacinda-ardern\/","title":{"rendered":"New Zealand\u2019s housing crisis poses big test for Jacinda Ardern"},"content":{"rendered":"

PHOTO: Jacinda Ardern won a landslide re-election in October despite failing to deliver on a pledge to tackle New Zealand\u2019s housing crisis \u00a9 Hannah Peters\/Getty<\/strong><\/p>\n

Booming prices<\/a> drive surge in homelessness and endanger election pledge to tackle inequality<\/p>\n

When Janet was forced to move out of her rental property in Auckland in 2019 because of asbestos contamination, she joined tens of thousands of New Zealanders caught in the grip of a chronic housing crisis. \u201cWe stayed in a leaky caravan for a bit and on friends\u2019 couches and were only able to access emergency accommodation following a referral from an MP,\u201d said the mother of three. Janet, who does not want her full name published for fear of being blacklisted by landlords, says rents are sky high and there is not enough social housing to meet soaring demand.<\/p>\n

More than three years after Jacinda Ardern<\/a> was elected prime minister on a platform of tackling the housing crisis and inequality, many experts say the situation has only become worse. \u201cWe\u2019ve probably seen the biggest widening of wealth distribution that we have ever seen in New Zealand between people who own houses and those who don\u2019t,\u201d said Arthur Grimes, professor of public policy at Victoria University of Wellington.<\/p>\n

Ms Ardern<\/a> was re-elected in a landslide in October, as popular support surged for her adroit handing of the coronavirus pandemic and other crises. But analysts warn a failure to deliver on earlier promises could alienate voters. 20% Rise in house prices in the 12 months to the end of October \u201cThe Labour government came in fully intending to build houses. I\u2019m not sure if it was naivety but it hasn\u2019t happened,\u201d said Jan Rutledge, general manager of De Paul House, an emergency housing service in Auckland.<\/p>\n

New Zealand\u2019s social housing waiting list has more than tripled to 21,415 since the 2017 election and rental prices have continued to outpace wage growth, with median rents climbing by 30 per cent since 2015. The homelessness rate is the highest in the OECD, although definitions of homelessness vary among the 37 member club of wealthy nations.<\/p>\n

READ MORE VIA FT<\/a><\/p>\n

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