Dunedin Mayor Aaron Hawkins yesterday said that as households were pushed towards poverty through lost income, reduced hours, or reduced wages in an economy in need of rebuilding, there could be an increasing need for affordable rental housing.
The "real test" for the Government as it plans its economic recovery would be the "appetite" it had for infrastructure projects that not only drove economic stimulus in the short term "but helps address the longer-term social and environmental issues".
"I’ve made it clear in conversations with Government that I think it would be a massive missed opportunity if they don’t invest more in housing as infrastructure, using the economic recovery as an opportunity to address wider social issues," Mr Hawkins said.
"We need to support the construction sector and make sure there’s work for them to do so that it doesn’t fall over; we need to continue to make sure that we are training people to come through and work in that sector; but the market is never really going to address where the greatest need is — and that is people on lower incomes who need affordable rental housing."
The Dunedin City Council has applied for $5.2 million for a community housing development from Crown Infrastructure Partners’ "shovel-ready" projects funding to directly help lower income residents in need, but also indicated it wanted help with funds for a $20 million upgrade of the council’s existing 936 community housing units.
It was also seeking a further $85 million worth of infrastructure projects to facilitate private development of transitional-zoned land for residential and commercial development.
"All eyes are on the Budget in a couple of weeks to see what comes out of that in terms of directly supporting our communities.
"That will have a pretty significant bearing on what we can do locally," Mr Hawkins said.
Economic forecaster Infometrics has predicted a national unemployment rate of 10% - a level of economic disruption not seen since the Great Depression of the 1930s - and hundreds of thousands of job losses, including tens of thousands of jobs lost in accommodation and food services, retail and wholesale trade, construction, non-food manufacturing, transport, postal and warehousing, and professional, scientific and technical services.
Salvation Army Dunedin community ministries manager David McKenzie said the Level 3 and 4 restrictions had been "pretty serious" for those on a low income, and before the lockdown there was already a significant crunch on the rental market.
And with some suggestion short-term visitor accommodation was being returned to the longer-term rental market, if more rental properties became available in the short term there could be relief for some of those in need.
"By and large, everybody’s just waiting to come out of this lockdown period... There’s quite a number of those who have been placed in motels over this time and I would hate to see them turfed back out on to the street.
"I don’t think people are going to do that, but some genuine solutions have got to be found for them."
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Is there a problem? AirBnB/motels & hotels are empty. Students are gone, some never to return as they see uni education for what it is for some of their degrees; a glorified piece of paper for their 'hobby' which costs $50k and little hope of a job at the end- plus it can be done mostly/all online.
Pushing new construction/refurbs that will add to the burden of over-stretched ratepayers is foolishness in itself. Whole parts of our economy is shot. Grow up DCC, life has changed- it is time to put your thinking caps on and not follow your tax and spend mantra. Show some wisdom in your spending.
"market is never really going to address where the greatest need is"
The market can't address the need because it is over regulated and over taxed.
First they break the market by sticking their noises and fingers into every corner, then they come, claiming to fix it's failings by building 'affordable' rental for the 'low income'.
The best thing that needs to come out of this pandemic is the realisation that it is NOT government that creates wealth nor our safety but the actions of everyone of us, individually. It is this individual ACTION that collectively, piece by piece, that builds and shapes our society.
Government's role is to provide the scaffolding for that to happen. It's the people that MAKE it happen.
NZ is full to the brim with people and organisation willing and able to support their fellow New Zealanders, without elected public servants dictating, according to their ideology, what is produced.
The end of the viral lockdown is near. If we are to overcome the economic fallout, we must unleash the people from the controls that stifle action, support innovators and risk takers, but most of all we must encourage, welcome, praise and celebrate success.
This mayor never met a loan he didn't like. He's going to leave us more in debt than Jacinda!
Now that our Mayor is fully aware of the poverty impacts etc on our city residents and is pushing central govt for funding, what rate relief plans do the council have in place to assist?
No rates relief,to many vanity projects and personal agendas to be sorted out stupidity comes first.
"I’ve made it clear in conversations with Government that I think it would be a massive missed opportunity if they don’t invest more in housing as infrastructure, using the economic recovery as an opportunity to address wider social issues," Mr Hawkins said"
So here we have our do nothing "mayor" going cap in hand to the govt yet again, this housing needs to be sorted by the council without them holding their hand out to the govt, they need to invest the money from the closure of the main street, the half shut cockles and the bridge to nowhere on making sure Dunedin's citizens are housed, will they do it? .... doubt it, their ideological needs come first.