New Zealand Gov’t Facing Opposition Flak Over State House Sale To Australian Firms

The opposition parties in New Zealand are up in arms over the government's plan to sell a few thousands of state houses this year and another 6000 by 2017. Adding fuel to the protests is the prospect of houses being sold to Australia-based charity groups.

Among the first lot ready for sale are in Tauranga and Invercargill. Though Salvation Army was initially identified as a prospective buyer, it subsequently backed out. Ethnic Maori Iwi groups are keen, but want houses sold at a heavily discounted rate.

Role For Ministers

Meanwhile, the Government is also changing laws to allow a greater say in the sell off by adding more powers to the ministers. A bill for empowering the ministers in selling state houses to community housing providers has been passed, on which Labour's spokesman Phil Twyford said, “it is going too far.” He said the bill gives National government ministers extraordinary powers to intervene personally and take control of the selling of billions of dollars of state houses. Labour alleged that the law also seeks to exempt the government from legal challenge and keeps it above the requirements of the Public Works Act that mandates offering property back to former owners.

New Twist

The opposition is alleging that the Government has opened flood gates of buyers of state houses, who need to be mere landlords and not do any social service. This follows the statement by Prime Minister John key in a press conference that buyers would not “have to provide social services but they could potentially provide social services either of their own accord or in conjunction with someone else.” Labour said this latest twist would allow any foreign company to buy billions of dollars’ worth of land and houses and just contract out the tenancy management and social services.

Their question is, if a foreign company can buy up thousands of houses and contract out the tenancy services, why not the Government do it? The opposition also accused the government of proffering pathetic justification on the state house sell off and is lurching from one excuse to the next. “First the houses were in the wrong place and wrong size, then the Salvation Army and iwi were supposed to buy them, but that was not true. Then the sell-off was needed because local groups could do a better job. Now the Government wants to sell to offshore companies,” Phil Twyford quipped.

(For feedback/comments, contact the writer at k.kumar@ibtimes.com.au)