Duncan Garner: Jacinda, John, Jenny and Helen didn’t build enough state houses

OPINION: The number of people being housed in motels has exploded – housing of last resort. National’s idea, Labour sniggered at it. They said it was a mess, a failure – then they inherited it. And have made it a whole lot worse.

Under Labour, it’s become a spectacular failure on a grand scale. Truth is, we are 20,000 state houses short.

Around 20,000 people languish on the state housing waitlist – they get directed to a motel.

Tick tock, tick tock – these people are no longer checking out of the motel. They check in, and too many of them are still there up to two years later.

Here are the numbers: 4000 Kiwi families or households are in motels right now, including more than 4000 kids, who say a motel is their home.

And children are staying in motels for increasingly long periods.

Our investigations show 675 kids in the first quarter of this year had been in emergency housing for between six and 12 months.