Housing ‘crisis’ in Chch

Press, 9 October 1982, Page 1

Housing ‘crisis’ in Chch

Housing shortages in Christchurch are as serious as they are in Auckland, according to a new survey.

The Christchurch-based Catholic Commission for Evangelisation. Justice and Development has released a 42-page report on accommodation problems in Christchurch. Auckland. and Dunedin. The two-month survey, conducted by commission members and social workers, was sought by Catholic bishops for discussion at their conference last month, and came after lawyers had reported instances of clients being homeless.

A commission member concerned in producing the survey. Mr David Mahony, said that the “housing crisis" was very serious in Christchurch. Although the number of homeless was greater in Auckland, on a percentage basis Christchurch figures were much the same.

The report quotes nine case studies, some of them taken from Christchurch. Among them is a solo mother, divorced, with three children aged from 11 to two. They have been living in one room in an emergency house for 12 months, unable to find private accommodation for less than $6O a week — more than a third of her income. Maoris and Pacific Islanders are particularly affected by the accommodation shortage, the report says. A survey of families with serious housing problems coming before social welfare agencies in Auckland has shown a heavy preponderance of both groups.

The report expects that the number of homeless will increase because the demand for housing is growing and building is declining. The Housing Corporation has reported a 55 per cent reduction in the number of new dwellings erected since 1975. Over the same period, however, the 16 to 29 age group has expanded bv 70,000. .

The impact of these factors has been increased by a change in Government policy from support for families oh low incomes to support for first-home buyers and those who “help themselves,” the report says.

The Government has decreased its involvement. in housing, expecting the private sector to take up the slack, but it has failed to do so because of the credit squeeze, high interest rates, and rising building costs.

The effect of these developments has been to “make housing a major social issue for the first time in more than a decade,” the report savs.