Smith was talking on Tuesday with NewsTalkZB's Mike Hosking.

Locked out

Smith told Hosking that community housing providers had previously been prevented from buying houses from developers. Instead, Kainga Ora sought out the developers and purchased their houses for the Government.

Smith said that, time and time again, first home owners were locked out of the market because Kainga Ora came along with a big chequebook.

He says Kainga Ora were servants of the Government.

Pointing the finger at the former Housing Minister, Smith said she needs to take blame [for] 80 percent of what has occurred.

Smith told Hosking that he thought the new Government is onto a good thing

A review of Kainga Ora by Sir Bill English found that, rather than collaborating with the community housing sector, the previous Government wanted to work alone.

Smith thinks that was part of the issue.

Elaborating, he said it was also because community housing providers live and work in their communities and know their communities while the Government does not.

Easy choice

"Offering affordable housing to Kiwis is vital if the country is to progress" says Mike Fox, director of Lower Hutt company EasyBuild.

Speaking with CathNews, Fox said he is looking forward to having community housing providers such as Monte Cecilia build good quality community housing for people in need.

"Offering affordable housing to Kiwis is vital for the progression of our country" he said.

Fox has been in the affordable housing business for many years and has witnessed the approaches of successive governments to community housing.

He agrees with Bernie Smith's critique about keeping its housing solutions 'in-house'.

Fox told CathNews that the approach "was to the detriment of New Zealand's social housing stock and stifled innovation in this space.

"Community Housing Providers are the ones on the ground, working effectively and efficiently with residents and understanding what works in their own communities" says Fox.

Positive change coming

Smith thinks the state housing sector can be managed differently.

Acknowledging that the queue for state housing is chronic, Smith suggested bigger is not always better.

"You've got to move away from a model where housing managers have got too many properties to manage" he said.

This isn't the case with community housing providers where the managers actually get to know their tenants, he added.

"They are therefore switched on to where there might be a problem, because they know the tenants rather than the other way around, where they're only getting visited when there are issues."

Seeing change coming, Smith told Hosking he predicts "seeds of positivity" will likely show within the next 12 months.

Sources

• NewstalkZB
• Supplied EasyBuild

Police are still looking for those responsible.

Just before 10.30pm, a gunshot rang out on Ahuwhenua Crescent in Onehunga. The bullet left a fist-sized hole in someone's garage door.

Safety and wellbeing

In a statement to RNZ, Monte Cecilia Housing Trust chief executive Vicki Sykes said they were aware of the shooting.

"Understandably, both residents and staff are feeling shaken by this event" she said.

"Our primary concern at this stage is the safety and wellbeing of our community, so we are working closely with the police to provide them with all assistance possible for their investigation."

She said Monte Cecilia is grateful to the community and extends its thanks to everyone for their support and understanding.

Monte Cecilia is dedicated to providing a safe and supportive environment for everyone.

Witness account

One woman said while on Wednesday night she was visiting family next door to the Monte Cecilia complex, she heard a loud bang.

"There was a massive bang like a massive shot.

"At first we thought it was just like metal or something but once we came outside, the neighbours came up and said there were men with rifles who had shot through the garage next door." She said that the incident was completely out of the ordinary for the area.

Gunshots continued

Half an hour after the Onehunga shooting there were more reports of gunfire.

This time shots were heard at a property on Haddon Street in Mangere East, about 10 minutes' drive from Monte Cecilia.

Multiple bullet holes could be seen in a window.

A nearby resident told RNZ "It's just out of the blue".

"Especially if you have kids, young kids, it does kind of worry, what's happening in the community."

Police investigating

Police forensic teams were busy at both locations.

It was not known if the two shootings were connected, but police urged anyone with information on either incident to get in touch.

Source

• RNZ

The review - which former Prime Minister Sir Bill English led - found the state housing agency has not been responsibly managing the billions of dollars it is allocated.

It's a very strong critique of Kainga Ora, says Monte Cecelia chief executive Vicki Sykes.

She's concerned that though the Government has had the report since March, its response is light on detail - leaving many unanswered questions.

The report questions Kainga Ora's financial competence and highlights a $700 million annual deficit.

Why housing's in a mess

"We don't have cross-party support for housing and we don't have long-term generational planning for housing," Sykes says.

"We get a flip-flop every time there is a change in government and it's really not helpful, especially when there are significant pauses in policy and spending."

Right now, Kainga Ora is working on a plan which must be completed by the end of the year.

Meanwhile Sykes says waiting for it is having a "significant effect" on community housing and commercial property development sectors.

Providers can't plan easily and it limits what they can do without funding security, she says.

"We can provide housing - physical infrastructure and tenancy management - at least as efficiently or more than the government" she points out.

But without cross-party commitment to 20-30 year contract funds in order to make multimillion-dollar projects financially viable, it's difficult for the sector to commit to them.

Transitional housing on skids

Transitional housing is a critical part of the housing ecosystem, Sykes says.

It's part of the service Monte Cecilia offers.

Effective wrap-around services so tenants can move to stable long-term housing are essential.

Yet the Kainga Ora report indicates a question mark over the continuation of wrap-around services.

Sykes says Monte Cecilia, like many housing providers, is ready to build, develop or manage more property and take on more tenants.

"But without funding support for building and operational subsidies [or clear messaging from the Government] our hands are tied...

"The Government postponed their decision on that till perhaps 12 to 18 months."

A lot of traction will be lost, people with skills will go elsewhere, contracts for other work will be undertaken. Local and job-specific knowledge will disappear, she predicts.

Mixed messages

Mixed messages between Kainga Ora and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development didn't help Kainga Ora, Sykes thinks.

They had differing views on 'fiscal responsibility' and 'a reasonable return on investment' - and whether or not Kainga Ora should break even.

"If our society wants everyone housed adequately - which costs money and investment - we need to realise this sort of enterprise can't break even," Sykes says.

Post-war Government big spending projects - including housing - offer another model. They stimulated the economy and provided full employment - plus housing, she suggests.

The Government needs to choose between breaking even and fiscal responsibility - how they reconcile those remains to be seen, Sykes says.

Source

• Pacific Media Network

The partnership is necessary if people are to move into more than an empty shell.

Monte Cecilia explains that when families move into the new house the Trust provides, they often have little to their names. Many lack the household furniture that makes a house into a home.

Junk2Go helps remedy this and, thanks to them, many families can now move into a house with tables to eat on, couches to sit on and beds to sleep in.

Founded in 2004, Junk2Go is an Auckland-based household rubbish and junk collection service. It collects unwanted items from people's homes and recycles or disposes of them.

A surprising amount of good furniture ends up in the mix, Junk2Go's Sustainability Manager Jamie Henry says.

"We were looking at the stuff we were getting and some of it was so much higher quality than the stuff people get from MSD," Henry says.

"Often families are expected to go out and get the cheapest stuff they can find, but the lifespan on items like that isn't great.

"The stuff we're getting though, things like $2K couches, beds that are worth $5K, stuff like that often still has a lot of life in it. It could last 5-10 years or more."

Henry says the Junk2Go partnership with Monte Cecilia started just under a year ago.

By enabling Monte Cecilia to offer household items to tenants, it helps people keep their heads held high, he says. There is often shame associated with having to ask for help, Henry explains.

"We just got a case where we heard from Monte Cecilia that a family moved into a house on a Saturday with literally nothing and in the space of a week we were able to fill their house with a TV, tables, couches, bedroom furniture, the lot. They were really grateful for it.

"Additionally, all these items would normally have gone to landfill so, from an environmental perspective, it's awesome."

Source

• Monte Cecilia Panui

The Catholic housing trust has been flooded with messages since Smith announced his resignation last month.

It's clear he'll be missed. Big time.

Smith is modest about his involvement with the Trust.

"Empowering the disempowered, housing the homeless and feeding the hungry - surely that's what we should do anyway," he says.

"It just represents our calling as individuals and as members of the Church here on earth."

He says he's loved seeing people gain hope when only experiencing hopelessness, to see whanau once disempowered now empowered to stand tall in their faith, culture and gender.

While he's quiet about his own achievements, he's proud of the Trust's progress.

It's been a hard job, but the rewards so far have been worth the effort.

"It's been wonderful to see unemployed people gain employment, further their education, gain diplomas and degrees, start businesses and become self-sustainable" he says.

"There's also been the occasional whanau who've progressed far enough to buy their own home. All those rewards have kept me going!"

Smith also mentions another major achievement involving a substantial building project.

This involved collaborating with the government to build 31 apartments and Monte's first headquarters - a small office facility.

They will be of lasting use for many years, he says.

"Generations to come will benefit from this work by gaining employment or having a safe, warm, dry home."

Managing homelessness and poverty is everyone's responsibility

Monte Cecilia's outgoing CEO says with growing homelessness and poverty in New Zealand there's too much for one group to try to fix it alone.

"The government cannot resolve this crisis on their own, and nor should they.

"We need partnerships. Collaboration and unity are critical factors. We need to work on this because homelessness and poverty are unacceptable in New Zealand. We all need to get involved!

"Desmond Tutu said 'Do your little bit of good where you are; it's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world'."

Messages following Smith's resignation show much he is valued and will be missed.

• "Was saddened to read this, I just wanted to thank you
• "... for being real and talking to me straight all the time ...
• "... for your leadership ... and leading with your heart
• " You and your work have made a huge positive impact
• "I have always valued your perspective, comradeship and support...
• " ... for being such a strong advocate for those without a home and for those living in poverty
• " Your passion and compassion along with your acumen is testimony to you as a person and the Gospel: "Truly I tell you, just as you did to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me"
• "... it is a lonely place being a voice for social justice. Thank you for the times you have publicly ... spoken truthfully as your mind and heart direct
• "I ... admire your giving voice to the whanau we all serve..."

Source

• Supplied

It says it will start accepting applications for the Fund from community housing providers this week.

The Fund will provide grants of up to 50 percent of the costs for affordable rental property developments.

Some housing providers are positive. They say after waiting six years for funding to build new homes, the scheme is a good start.

Others aren't so upbeat.

South Auckland's Monte Cecilia Housing Trust has some concerns.

Chief executive Bernie Smith says many providers in the Auckland region will struggle to take advantage of the scheme.

"I think in Auckland if you are a community housing provider and you're sitting on land it's great," Smith says.

"But if you don't already have the property and plans to go, I don't know how you could make it work."

Smith notes there are already supply-side shortages in the construction sector. There's a lack of available tradespeople. Materials are in short supply. These shortages could impact on the timing of projects, he says.

Others reporting on construction costs say they're rising at the fastest pace on record.

At the same time, Smith points out property prices in the region add to the cost of developments.

Smith says he plans to meet with officials from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development to discuss his concerns.

Monte Cecilia may have to use the Fund in the future to fund housing if it can make it "stack up".

A cut to funding last year allowed social housing providers to lease existing private sector properties. That left providers like Monte Cecilia struggling to provide homes for families who need transitional housing.

Minister for Housing Megan Woods has responded to criticism of those funding cuts, pointing to the emphasis on building new homes rather than always buying or leasing accommodation.

Reports say Kainga Ora has been working on ways to speed up the process of building new homes.

"Project Velocity" has cut the time it takes to get shovels into the ground down from 18 months (on one project) to two months.

Speed is of the essence. Cities - like Rotorua - anticipate needing emergency housing for at least another five years.

Community Housing Aotearoa chief executive Vic Crockford says the Fund is a good start for building affordable rental properties.

"Many households are finding it extremely difficult to pay rent and the impact of that is a swelling transitional housing waitlist and too many of our children in temporary accommodation, unable to put down roots," she says.

Crockford says many providers in the Fund's target regions are ready and waiting with projects in the pipeline.

Source

• The Spinoff
• RNZ

Smith, who joined Monte Cecilia in 2016, will step down at the beginning of September this year.

"Bernie has contributed significantly to the organisation," says Monte Cecilia Board Chair Ken Brophy. His achievements during his six years as the Trust's CEO are numerous.

The opening of "Windrush" is a key achievement Brophy mentions.

With 'Windrush', Smith led a $12.5 million project which saw the construction of 30 two-bedroom units plus new offices on the site of an old rest home in Windrush Close, Mangere.

"The difference from when he arrived until now is significant.

"He has grown Monte from 30 properties to over 600, staff from nine to 55 full-time employees and the budget from $1million to $28million."

Brophy also acknowledged the leadership the Trust's CEO had shown during a growth phase for the community housing provider.

"We thank him for his leadership and for his focus on families most in need within our communities.

"I thank Bernie on behalf of our Board for his service to the families of Tamaki Makaurau and wish him the very best."

The Board will immediately start a recruitment process for the new CEO with interim arrangements to be made.

Brophy says they will have the assigned agency underway next week.

The Board will also be informing staff of the interim arrangements once it has concluded those with all the relevant people.

Monte Cecilia Housing Trust was established in 1982 by the St Vincent de Paul Society, Liston Foundation, the Sisters of Mercy and the Marist Brothers.

The original purpose was to provide emergency housing and practical assistance to families with a housing need. The Trust also sought to ensure adequate, affordable and secure housing for all New Zealanders through housing action and political advocacy.

Monte Cecilia seeks housing justice for all and is committed to working toward a New Zealand where every person has a place to call home.

Its vision is that "Everyone has access to adequate, affordable and secure housing".

It is a member of the Auckland Catholic diocese group of charities

Monte Cecilia Housing Trust's mission is to promote housing justice for everyone in Aotearoa New Zealand by:

• Nourishing hope for and advancing a vision of adequate, affordable, secure, healthy and permanent housing
• Providing high quality and culturally appropriate services to families with a housing need
• Participating in housing action and political advocacy initiatives

Source

• Supplied - Monte Cecilia Trust

Last October the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) cut funding to organisations leasing existing private sector properties to help families out of temporary transitional housing.

Under the income-related rents scheme, families could pay 25 percent of their household income for a home. The Ministry would pay the balance.

Now that the funding has been pulled, however, Monte Cecilia Housing Trust chief executive Bernie Smith said there are a lot of families stuck in limbo.

"There's no more additional transitional housing being provided, so our pipeline of housing has come to a standstill."

Smith said with state houses in short supply in south Auckland, the income-related rents scheme helped get families who were struggling into more stable homes.

One woman - Papatoetoe resident Lillian King - has been living in transitional housing for the past 18 months. The property she lives in was provided through Monte Cecilia Housing. She has been on the state house waiting list since 2019.

The 29-year-old sole mother has children ranging from 8 months to 16 years of age. One, a 13-year-old, is autistic. She says it wasn't easy finding the right property.

She had looked at properties in the private rental market, but says she couldn't afford them on the sole parent support benefit.

"I appreciate everything Monte Cecilia Housing Trust has done for us, but I feel like we've come to a dead end."

She says living in transitional housing is unstable and not a good place to raise a family. There's nothing wrong with the house they're renting - it's relatively new - but it's a short-term lease.

At the moment, Smith says there are over 27,000 applicants on the state house waiting list.

Housing Minister Megan Woods supports the Government's decision to reduce funding for the income-related rents scheme.

She believes the programme was reducing the number of houses in the private rental market and wasn't increasing the supply of new housing stock.

"We changed our policy last year to ensure the funding we supply to community housing providers also helps to resolve the severe housing shortage.

"It is important to note that no-one is being displaced by this policy - existing redirects are renewed or relisted as they become vacant."

She also says the housing crisis is a direct result of insufficient housing being being built.

The Government is addressing the problem through increasing the amount of new public housing and supporting community housing providers, she says.

Source

• Stuff

In an open letter to the Prime Minister and Minister for Child Poverty Reduction Jacinda Ardern, Associate Minister for Workplace Relations Priyanca Radhakrishnan and Minister for Women Jan Tinetti, the organisations are calling on the Government to make pay gap reporting mandatory for businesses with over 50 employees.

Led by MindTheGapNZ, the letter said with the soaring cost of living taking its toll on whanau nationwide, a situation made worse by winter heating bills, now more than ever we must act to close pay gaps.

"Many women and people in our Maori, Pasifika and other ethnic communities earn much less than they would if they were a Pakeha man. That's not fair. It's not the Kiwi way. The playing field is tilted against too many," the letter said.

"In these tough times, every dollar counts. We can't afford to wait any longer.

"Requiring big employers to report pay gaps can help reduce child poverty and help end discrimination that impacts on the aspirations of Maori, of Pasifika; of other ethnic groups." Continue reading

It's been dubbed the sale of the century: in Auckland, 230ha to 270ha of public or state land is quietly being sold to private or sharemarket-listed developers, to build free-market homes across the city.

Large blocks of state land are being sold bit-by-bit in a 15- to 20-year plan. New state homes sit close to new privately-owned houses on recently-sold former state land.

"It's a sad indictment of our country that even as 25-30,000 people are trapped living in temporary and transitional housing, the government is selling state houses to private developers," says Smith.

"I understand they are selling it to fund long-term intensification plans, but this worsens the current problem, which is already at crisis levels, in the hopes of catching up later. The impact will be felt for generations in health, education and justice outcomes."

He should know. The not-for-profit Monte Cecilia provides transitional and community housing to about 2000 families each year in the South and West Auckland areas.

Of particular concern to Smith are the children living in temporary transitional housing accommodation, like the 4000 motel rooms the government pays for. Four hundred of the 815 children currently in Monte Cecilia temporary accommodation are younger than seven.

Reducing public housing stock will force them to stay in these situations longer, he says.

"Transitional housing providers who promised to find a long-term home for families in three to six months now cannot fulfil that promise with the Government selling the housing supply line out from under us."

He says it's "not ok to say to the 10,000-plus children across our nation in temporary housing that ‘the State will sort it eventually' because for decades they have not".

Smith says the children are living in homes full of stress. They witness taxes, food and fuel costs constantly rising, pushing families into debt as they try to survive and work out how they are going to put food on the table.

"Sadly, these children often watch their parents go without food so they can eat," Smith says.

"These children, who are in their formative years, are being traumatised by the feeling that nobody cares and they don't count because they live the reality of poverty, hour by hour, day by day, running into weeks, months and now potentially years".

Political point-scoring or promises don't offer a future or hope, says Smith.

He does have a suggestion, though.

"The government must not go it alone.

"With the right mix of capital funding and long-term policies to unlock financing opportunities, we can work together to solve our housing crisis by building thousands more homes while developing strong healthy communities in safe, warm and secure housing".

Source

• NZ Herald
• Scoop

He is adamant.

We might want to blame COVID and the war in Ukraine for our economic woes, he says. But everyone (except successive Governments) knows Government support for those in most need is not up to the task.

"When you look at the rate that living costs have climbed compared to support, struggling families are now far worse off as living costs continue to spiral out of control."

Tellingly, the NZ wait register for social housing has climbed to over 30,000 this year. Four years ago it was 5,500, he says.

The Budget hasn't addressed the problem either.

Yes, there's $27 a week (to a total of $350) for people earning less than $70,000 per year. But - that boost isn't for people on Winter Energy Payments. They're excluded.

That means people on core benefits who need that help the most won't qualify, Smith says.

Meantime, they're stressing about how they are going to put food on the table and get warm clothes and blankets to stop their children from catching the winter flu.

Research shows while household entitlements have increased in recent years, recipients continue to play catch up.

The reason: entitlements are never indexed against the cost of living increases.

Over the years their worth erodes, driving families deeper into an endless cycle of poverty and housing insecurity.

To illustrate his point, Smith says when the Social Security Act 1938 was passed, it offered ten income support benefits to give every New Zealander the right to a reasonable standard of living.

The Government firmly believed it was everyone's responsibility to ensure all New Zealanders were safeguarded from poverty and circumstances beyond their control.

"The Act removed the Government's classification of people as ‘worthy' or ‘unworthy poor', but people still think strongly about those on the benefit in a negative way," Smith says.

People who are forced into poverty through injury, illness or acts outside their control are not criticised for accessing welfare.

But long-term welfare beneficiaries often are - you will receive a mixed response varying from encouragement to insult, Smith says.

"Sadly, our country values some individuals more than others. We clearly, more often than not, value those who are in employment more than those who are not employed."

But every New Zealander, regardless of their employment status or income, is a valuable member of our community, Smith says.

So why do we disrespect tens of thousands of them by taking away their dignity and creating in them a sense of shame and hopelessness?

"We should be trying to identify a bright, dignified future of self-sustainability, where they can feel a sense of pride and a place in our communities, where every man, woman and child not only feels welcome, but is offered a long-term dry, warm, secure and affordable home with a liveable household income."

Source

• Supplied Monte Cecilia Trust

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Monday that while rising living costs were impacting, she wouldn't describe the situation as a crisis.

However, the Catholic Housing Trust CEO with first-hand real-life experience of hardship is pushing back on statements by the Prime Minister.

"From Monte Cecilia's perspective, we're working with hundreds of families every day who were already struggling to keep a roof over their children's heads and food in their bellies, who are now being pushed well past the line.

"If that's not a crisis, I don't know what you'd call it.

"Between rent, food, fuel and other basic necessities, families are expected somehow to find thousands of dollars extra a year to cover the rising costs.

"That's a tough blow for those of us who are doing ok, but for families who were already struggling, it's crushing."

Monte Cecilia has had to stop taking referrals earlier in the year after its waitlist grew to almost 400 families and the government restricted its ability to contract new homes from landlords.

Many New Zealanders agree with Smith.

On Tuesday a mum of five told Newshub AM she's struggling after her family's bills increased by $7000 in the past year.

One Reddit user said Ardern was "simply ignoring facts," while another called it a "poor take" given food, petrol, rent and house prices were "skyrocketing."

The cost of living has skyrocketed with Kiwis spending on average an extra $4000 to $5000 in the past 12 months on basics such as food, rent and fuel. The highest single item in the increase is fuel, with an extra $678 a year at the pump on average.

Speaking to Newshub's AM, Ardern said that despite the escalating fuel cost, she wouldn't be cutting tax on petrol.

"What we're seeing right now is the impact of Covid and the recovery and of Ukraine," Ardern said. "The increase we've seen at the pump, it's been significant. It has not come from excise [tax], it has not come from government."

AM host Ryan Bridge pushed Ardern to admit that if the government cut taxes on petrol, people could be paying half as much at the pump. However, Ardern replied: "If you remove excise, which every government has used, you basically remove your ability to maintain roads and roading projects," she said.

Bernie Smith concluded, "It doesn't matter that the cause is global because this isn't about handing out blame - what matters is what we're doing to help our most vulnerable families.

"Prime Minister Ardern has said that she expects things to improve over the course of the year and I hope she's right, I really do, but families are being forced into poverty right now.

"We can't afford to sit still and hope the situation improves - we need to act."

Sources

• Monte Cecilia Housing Trust Press Release
• NewsHub
• The Spinoff
• Otago Daily Times

Until now, Monte Cecilia and similar places have used a "redirect contracts" initiative to house families. In this, they find private landlords willing to lease their house for at least a year, then create an agreement where the tenants pay 25 percent of their income as rent and the government covers the rest.

The change in policy will also negatively affect the more than 400 families currently on Monte Cecilia's wait list.

Monte Cecilia CEO Bernie Smith (pictured) is concerned that these families will have nowhere to go.

"As we've grappled with exploding numbers of at-risk families over the past two years, redirect contracts have been hugely valuable. In the past year alone we've been able to help more than four and a half thousand children and their families, thanks in no small part to having that tool available."

The government will no longer offer these arrangements with Community Housing Providers (CHPs) from 1 October this year.

The shift in policy was announced in January as part of the government's Public Housing Plan 2021-2024.

The Government is aiming for an increase in new build public housing and a progressive decrease in the proportion of private market homes leased for public housing. This is to help correct years of under-building of public housing.

But Smith insists without the subsidy, the families will have nowhere to go. He explains Monte Cecilia will not be able to rehouse the 316 adults and 737 children it currently has in transitional housing. Half of the children are aged seven or under.

"Fifty-five percent of these families are Pasifika and 30 percent are Maori - two of New Zealand's most at-risk populations.

"It's frustrating to see the government moving ahead with this decision when Covid makes it so important for families to be are able to shelter safely in their homes. But how do you safely lock down while living in a three-bedroom home with 22 people, sharing a single toilet, bathroom and small kitchen?

"To sleep at night, you have to find some vacant floor space in the single room you share with the rest of your family. Monte Cecilia Housing Trust often works to help families in South Auckland out of these very circumstances."

In a press statement, the Monte Cecilia Trust points out that "by the end of 2021 [the change in policy] is expected to force over 200 families (over 1000 people, 700 of whom are children) currently in Monte Cecilia accommodation to wait years in temporary housing for the Kainga Ora build programme to catch up".

In the 2013 Census, there were 100,000 people in Counties Manakau living in overcrowded sub-standard housing. Today, 40 percent of Pacifika families in Auckland are living in multi-generational over crowded homes.

"New Zealand signed up to the UN declaration that Housing is a Human Right, so why can't the government accept that as fact... We need a cross-party strategy to tackle this, and we need to be using every tool available...

"This is an urgent problem. It's urgent in its severity, it's urgent in its impact on our ability to fight Covid and it's urgent ethically."

Source

• NZ Catholic
• Image: RNZ

What you may not have heard about is the recent UMR poll in February showing seven in 10 New Zealanders support this measure.

That number came as a bit of a shock to me.

It's not often you get 70 per cent of people behind… well, almost anything really.

So why the overwhelming support?

I certainly know why I support it - the team at Monte Cecilia are at the coalface of New Zealand's poverty issues every day.

We encounter parents afraid to send their children to school because they can't afford to give them lunches and we meet with single mothers living in the garages of overcrowded houses with no way to self-isolate in the event of another Covid outbreak.

But these are stories of quiet desperation which are seldom told in the news.

These problems have become so widespread and so obvious that they're impossible to ignore.

But I also think if there has been one indisputable benefit of Covid to balance the terrible cost it has extracted, it's that it showed us how powerful we were when we came together as a team of five million.

The plight of the poor in New Zealand is certainly a large-scale problem and it's getting worse.

In more than 40 years of working in this sector, I don't remember ever seeing this level of unmet need.

A few years ago, Monte Cecilia staff would field 10 to 15 calls a week from families in need, over the past year that number has jumped to 20 to 30 a day.

It illustrates the story of New Zealand's K-shaped Covid recovery: the well-off have bounced back by remote working and increasing their savings, while those on low incomes have faced increased job instability and rising rental prices.

We're seeing people living in two different worlds in New Zealand, and Covid has only exacerbated this trend.

Current levels of income support simply aren't enough and they're becoming even more insufficient as time goes on.

For reasons that utterly elude me, the poor seem to be hit the hardest by inflation, with the highest rental price increases last year being in South Auckland (averaging 3.5 per cent) according to the Barfoot and Thompson Rental Report for 2020.

In that report, the average rental for an Auckland three-bedroom house hit $595 a week at the start of 2021.

If you're working full time on minimum wage with 3 per cent KiwiSaver and no student loan, you'll be earning just $653 after tax.

How in the world is anyone supposed to better their own life under those circumstances?

Where can they find the resources to do additional study?

How are they supposed to afford school uniforms and stationery for their children's schooling while also somehow putting food on the table and keeping the lights on?

The Government desperately needs to apply the same kind of common sense, no-nonsense approach it did during our battle with Covid, instead of providing just enough support for the problem to limp on.

We need to ensure that everyone, whether they are working, caring for children, living with a disability or illness, studying, or have lost their jobs before or because of Covid-19 has a liveable income, and we need to do it now.

There is a Budget approaching on May 20.

This is the Government's chance to have a transformational impact on generations of New Zealanders. I hope they take it.

• Bernie Smith is the CEO of the Monte Cecilia Housing Trust.
• First published in The Weekend Herald. Republished with permission.

"We're always happy to see those arrows going in the right direction and I think the government is to be commended for what they had accomplished up to that point," Smith says.

"But those numbers no longer reflect the situation on the ground - the economic fallout from Covid hit New Zealand's low-income families incredibly hard and we've seen the level of need in our communities skyrocket. We went from getting 10-15 calls a week to 20-30 a day."

"Rising living costs, particularly rents, have combined with job instability to create really difficult situations for a lot of families. Stats NZ's data shows that inflation has been three-times higher for beneficiaries and where there has been wage growth it hasn't been evenly shared with lower income groups."

This is also the second year Stats NZ has produced child poverty statistics for different ethnic groups, making it possible to see how poverty rates for different groups have changed over time.

"The decision to track stats by ethnic group has produced some really confronting results. The degree to which child poverty disproportionately affects Maori and Pacific Island families has made for sobering reading, and Covid has only added fuel to the fire."

In the year ended June 2020, 19 percent of Maori children and 25.4 percent of Pacific children lived in households that reported going without six or more of the 17 basic needs. These rates compared with 11 percent for all New Zealand children.

"Increased government support for low-income families is desperately needed if we're going to confront the growing inequality in our society. That much is clear, but doing so is actually a position with a lot of public support," Smith said.

A recent poll commissioned by a super-group of NGOs (including Monte Cecilia) showed seven out of ten (69%) of New Zealanders agree ‘the Government should increase income support for those on low incomes and not in paid work'.

"Covid has caused a lot of damage across the world but it also showed New Zealanders that we're capable of incredible things when we work together.

"This problem is solvable and the public is overwhelmingly behind the government taking bold action to do so," Smith says.

Source

• Monte-Cecilia Housing Trust

Monte Cecilia Housing Trust chief executive officer Bernie Smith puts the increased demand down to reduced working hours and increasing unemployment.

Smith told NZ Catholic the Catholic housing trust received 10-15 inquiries a day during the second Auckland lockdown, however, 12 months ago they received 15 enquiries a week.

Smith's statistics mirror figures released by the Ministry of Social Development showing the number of applicants on the Housing Register was 18,520 as of June 30, an increase of 50.4 per cent as against the same time last year.

Smith says the Trust is waiting with "bated breath" to see what will happen when the wage subsidy comes off.

He says the Trust needs 600 houses in the next 12 months.

The demand for housing is wider than Auckland and general concern is rising with the COVID-19 rent freeze due to be lifted on Friday.

Renters United says tenants are already being told their costs will go up and president of the organisation Robert Whitaker says it's going to make life "really hard" for renters.

The advocacy group for tenants want the Government to limit rent increases to no more than inflation.

"For those on low incomes, it forces impossible choices between paying the bills, feeding themselves and their family, and losing their home. With the looming recession caused by COVID-19, renters face even greater hardship."

However, NZ Property Investors Federation executive officer Sharon Cullwick says it's effectively been eight months since landlords have been able to activate rent increases and some catch-up was inevitable.

"In total, that's quite a long time to go without any increase in rent. So it won't be surprising to see may landlords activating rent rises after the 26th."

The housing markets in Wellington, Rotorua, Hawkes Bay, Queenstown and Dunedin are also under considerable pressure.

The average price for property in the Capital is now $689,000, while worsening housing markets in Rotorua and Queenstown means many people who hadn't had to rely on community support were seeking it.

Prior to the 2017 General Election, some 600 people joined Bishop Justin Duckworth, Anglican bishop of Wellington, assistant Anglican bishop of Wellington, Eleanor Sanderson, and Cardinal Dew at a housing forum in the Anglican Cathedral of St Paul.

While Dew reminded those present that on a global scale, New Zealand had the worst rate of homelessness in the OECD - according to a Yale University study, Duckworth said the 2017 housing crisis was the greatest issue facing New Zealand.

Duckworth asked if the politicians actually cared.

"We're talking about probably the issue that in the polls is the greatest issue facing New Zealanders. For me, this is no longer about housing, it's just simply about do you (politicians) care? Do you actually care?", Duckworth asked.

Sources

• Newshub
• NZ Catholic
• Good Returns
• NZ Advisor
• ODT
• CathNews

The Monte Cecilia Housing Trust has built the 30 two-bedroom units and its new offices on the site of an old rest home in Windrush Close, Mangere, at a cost of $12.5 million.

Thirty homeless families in South Auckland will get new, modern houses this week, and working parents are among the first tenants.

The houses were opened to coincide with World Homelessness Day. Continue reading

At this year's Bruce Jesson Memorial lecture, Monte Cecilia Housing Trust's Bernie Smith argued KiwiBuild's flaws not only perpetuate housing unaffordability, but cause further intergenerational social problems.

Bernie Smith tells an interesting story.

After working in some of the most deprived communities in rural Australia and Papua New Guinea, Smith came back to New Zealand in 2016.

At that point, homelessness and housing affordability were among the worst ever seen in the country.

Just over a year later, he watched Jacinda Ardern and her party enter into a coalition Government with New Zealand First and the Greens.

Following through on their election promise, Ardern and her newly-minted Housing Minister Phil Twyford - a fellow Aucklander - announced their plan to ramp-up New Zealand's much-depleted housing stock.

By July 2019, KiwiBuild targets plan for 1000 new homes on the ground.

After that, a target of 5000 new homes has been set for July 2020.

Labour-led Government dashes hopes

As chief executive of South Auckland based Monte Cecilia House Trust, Smith looked at the numbers eagerly.

He hoped the Labour-led Government and its promised influx of new homes, would help the hundreds of homeless and precariously tenanted lower income families in Auckland.

After all, Ardern promised to address child poverty, he said in his address at the Bruce Jesson Memorial lecture at the University of Auckland this week.

However, as more information emerged, Smith realised KiwiBuild wasn't going to deliver what he and other Auckland community housing providers wanted for:

• 92,000 households living in unaffordable rental situations
• 36,000 households living in overcrowded conditions
• 20,300 homeless

KiwiBuild great for middle class

Smith: "Over the 2017/18 financial year, Monte Cecilia - just one agency in Auckland - had 1349 children use or access its services, 50 percent of those children were under eight years old.

"Eighteen months ago we had three children who had just undergone cancer treatment, and a fourth child with brittle bone disease.

"The Ronald McDonald house was over-full and those children had no family home to go back to, so they came to Monte Cecilia.

"It's no different this week or last week," he said.

"KiwiBuild is great for middle class New Zealanders with higher household incomes.

But ... KiwiBuild properties are not helpful to our working poor or to those in poverty because they're totally out of reach and unaffordable." Continue reading

• Image: Stuff