Emerge Aotearoa welcomes the new Public Housing Plan as one part of a range of housing initiatives needed to address the housing crisis.
Following on from the Prime Minister’s recent announcement regarding the Government’s new Public Housing Plan, Emerge Aotearoa is pleased to hear Prime Minister Jacinda Arden reiterate that “fixing the housing crisis is a key focus of this Government”. Emerge Aotearoa agrees that the need for public housing for the most disadvantaged members of our communities, continues to grow and that the new Public Housing Plan is one part of a range of housing initiatives needed to address the housing crisis.
“The focus of the plan on developing partnerships between the Crown and Iwi/Maori is a critical step in the right direction and is the only way to really address the existing inequities for Maori in housing” says Dr Barbara Disley, Chief Executive of the Emerge Aotearoa Group.
Emerge Aotearoa also fully supports the Plan’s commitment to increasing the involvement of communities upfront in designing and delivering housing solutions that better meet their needs.
Emerge Aotearoa is committed to doing more to support this current housing crisis. We have 203 social houses, providing housing for people on low incomes, and a pipeline of an additional 250 housing units which are in progress. Many of our pipeline projects are community partnerships with both government agencies and non-government organisations.
While the plan references the provision of housing by Community Housing Providers, it limits this to where a ‘complementary or bespoke approach’ is needed. In this time of crisis opening options to a greater involvement of the community sector seems a logical and important piece of the puzzle. “As a sector, we could do so much more with the right policy and funding settings. A stronger community sector can support getting more houses up quickly, complementing and contributing to the public owned stock” says Hope Simonsen, National Manager of the Emerge Aotearoa Housing Trust, an entity under the Emerge Aotearoa Group.
“We believe housing is a human right, not a privilege, and affordable, secure, warm housing is a key foundation for health and wellbeing. At Emerge Aotearoa we have seen whānau, in particular children, have their lives changed when they have a home. That is why Emerge Aotearoa has stepped up its commitment to provide long term social housing and tenancy and property management services for whānau and individuals from Whangarei to Invercargill” says Dr Disley.
ENDS
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