Emergency housing should be charged for

Dileepa Fonseka writes at Newsroom:

Now the Labour-led government is pushing ahead with a plan to charge families like hers 25 percent of their income for staying in these emergency motels.

The change was announced in February, set to come into place in March, but was delayed due to Covid-19. 

Now it will come into effect on October 19 – two days after the election.

The Government argues it is a question of fairness along with a much-needed incentive to get people out of emergency housing and into private, transitional or social housing.

If a state house costs you 25% of your income (which is also hugely subsidised) and emergency housing costs you nothing, then you’re not going to be in a hurry to move out.

In fact it creates really perverse incentives. If you damage your state house and get evicted, then you get to stay for free in a motel.

So on this issue, Labour is doing the right thing.