State Housing Action Network (SHAN) is organising a protest hikoi to parliament to demand National MPs and their allies stop the sale of state houses.
State house tenants and supporters from all over New Zealand will come together on Tuesday 13th October, the first sitting day of parliament after the holiday recess.
Convenor of SHAN, John Minto says “We are appalled that in the middle of a housing crisis for low-income tenants and families the government is trying to sell state houses to the private sector.”
“Nowhere in the world has the private sector ever provided quality, affordable housing for all tenants and families on low incomes who need them. It is only ever done by the state which has the resources and the capacity to do so.”
“The government has already transferred 2,800 state houses in Tamaki to the government-owned Tamaki Redevelopment Company where shareholding ministers are working to half the number of state houses in the first stage of redevelopment in northern Glen Innes.”
“The government is now planning on taking this approach to the rest of the country – stripping out state housing for private sector profit.”
Groups from Invercargill and Tauranga will lead the march. These are the first two cities where the government plans the wholesale privatisation of state houses.