Lushington D. Brady: Tell Me This Isn’t a Government Operation

“Tell me this isn’t a government operation.” My favourite line from Apollo 13, when Gene Kranz (Ed Harris) learns that the vital carbon scrubbers on the Lunar Module are round, while the ones they need to replace on the Command Module are square. I’m not certain whether Kranz ever really said it, but, as he said, of “Failure is not an option” (something he definitely did not say), it’s such a good a line that he wished he had.

A few home buyers in New Zealand are probably wishing they had re-considered the wisdom of buying into a government operation.

A first home buyer couple have been waiting three years for their new build, but now that it has finally been finished the developer has suddenly gone silent on them.

Tell me this isn’t a government operation, indeed.

Of course, some of us curmudgeons were inclined from the start to doubt La Jacinda’s giddy promises to build 100,000 homes in a decade. How dare we? Where was our kindness?

Well, where, indeed is the “kindness” in promising the world to young families, but delivering nothing? Or worse?

Richard and Meg Maher’s home in Ormiston, Auckland, has received its Code Compliance Certificate (CCC), but not its “practical completion”, meaning the purchase hasn’t been settled.

Meanwhile, the sunset clause date in the sale and purchase agreement has passed, leaving the couple wondering if the developer is about to pull out and leave them in the lurch.

“The alarm bells have been ringing for me since the updates stopped in June,” Richard Maher said. “Last time we stopped getting updates, the developers went into receivership.”

Worse than nothing, in this case, may well mean being stiffed more than they ever imagined.

Maher said he was now nervous because when they bought the price was $650,000, but KiwiBuild caps for three bedroom homes had since increased to $860,000. The developer, therefore, might stand to gain by using the sunset clause to exit the agreement, he said.

As government operations are wont to do, when it all hits the fan, no-one is prepared to take responsibility.

Maher contacted Kainga Ora’s KiwiBuild team to ask if it might intervene on buyers’ behalf, but found that the housing agency had no legal power.

“Our role is limited as we are not a party to the sale and purchase agreement. The agreement is a legally binding contract between the individual buyers and the developer,” a spokesperson said to Stuff.

“The KiwiBuild programme is designed to help facilitate more affordable homes,… however, it does not guarantee construction of those homes, influence the speed of delivery or protect developers against external market challenges.”

“It does not guarantee construction of those homes”

But Jacinda promised!

It’s easy to scoff at those who bought into the scheme, but these are (mostly young) people who did nothing more wrong than take a Prime Minister at her word. A PM, New Zealand and the whole world was relentlessly ear-bashed, who was different, who was kind, who helped people.

Maher said he and his wife have been left feeling “emotionally drained and depleted” by the ordeal, and just want answers from the developers about why their house had been finished, but not settled […]

The Mahers got married in March 2021. They were going to wait until they were in the house to have their first child, but went ahead, imagining they would be in by at least January 2022.

“We have pinned our whole lives around this bloody house.”

Stuff

Couples like the Mahers were loudly, unceasingly, sold a lie by shameless propagandists and greasy shonks. None of whom will, clearly, ever be held to account.

While Jacinda rakes in the cash from one cosy sinecure after another, will her conscience ever be pricked by the plight of people like the Mahers?

Don’t make me laugh.

Lushington describes himself as Punk rock philosopher. Liberalist contrarian. Grumpy old bastard. This article was first published HERE