Ronald Reagan said that the nine most terrifying words in the English language are “I'm from the government, and I'm here to help.”
Fast forward to present-day New Zealand and we have a new champion in the scary nine word category: “We're Kāinga Ora and we are your new neighbours.”
Sadly this is true. It is probably fair to say that some people have always been unenthusiastic about having state houses as neighbours, but most accepted that it is important to have social housing for those in need. But that goodwill has been destroyed by the free reign given abusive tenants over the last six years.
The National-led government now wants to strike a different balance. Quite naturally, political and media opponents are horrified by the idea. The idea that somebody would lose their state subsidised house just because they menace their neighbours with a axe, however, does not seem so unreasonable to most people.
I've not even bothered to poll on this, because it is obvious 85%+ would agree.
Consequences for badly behaved Kāinga Ora tenants inevitably involves the harsh reality that some of these individuals will become homeless. They may be driven to seek temporary shelter with family or friends, a solution that's not only temporary but can also strain personal relationships and resources. In the worst case scenario, they may end up living in a garage or a car.
But this outcome was not caused by the government. Provided that there is a fair process involved, the outcome was the result of their abusive behaviour. It sometimes feels as if the left think of social housing tenants as livestock rather than people, as if they were not in control of their ability to threaten to kill their neighbour's dog and burn down her house.
Exactly., You can simply decide not to abuse your neighbours.
Children, of course, are often the innocent victims in this scenario. Nobody chooses their parents. The loss of a home underlines the impact of adult decisions on the youngest and most defenceless members of society.
It does not follow that we must enable abusive tenants, however, as if their children are a human shield that gives them immunity from minimal standards of acceptable behaviour. If an ordinary renter or homeowner breaks the covenants of their tenancy or mortgage then the fact that they have children does not entitle them to continue living in their home forever.
In the case of Kāinga Ora tenants, the parents have the benefit of having the government as a landlord and below market rents. Parents who are willing to jeopardise that by using the place for gang meetings, in full knowledge of the consequences, are unfit parents.
We need to accept that turning this situation around may require significant bolstering of the already unfunded foster care system. If our first concern is to secure children's material needs, those are not likely to be provided by such irresponsible people. Greater levels of intervention than the provision of a home is required.
Sadly also true. If you're a kid in a household where the adults threaten to kill the neighbours, then the biggest issue isn't your house – it is your parents.
In the meantime, the Green Party's ongoing support for abusive tenants points to a warped sense of morality. Tamatha Paul says the government's policies amount to a “coalition of cruelty punishing people for being poor” which is a misrepresentation that obscures the real issues that social housing providers and neighbours must grapple with.
Being provided with a house at a subsidised rent, with the expectation of basic civil behaviour, is not a punishment for being poor. It is a form of generous support for the poor by the community.
If you are evicted after attacking the maintenance man with a blunt weapon, you have not been punished for being poor. You have been punished for shocking violence against someone trying to maintain the house you have been provided with.
The Greens values are so warped on this.
David Farrar runs Curia Market Research, a specialist opinion polling and research agency, and the popular Kiwiblog where this article was sourced. He previously worked in the Parliament for eight years, serving two National Party Prime Ministers and three Opposition Leaders.
6 comments:
Liam, That's a clear, well-reasoned statement on what society and government need to do about the poor behaviour of tenants (and other miscreants), along with the support of those, like the children, adversely affected. I hope this is picked widely and action is taken to implement it. We might then start to move forward again as a society.
I have a suggestion David. Most of the lefty liberals asking for good housing corp tenants to put up with the bad housing corp tenants, for fear that eviction will harm children, have their own homes I imagine. So here is the suggestion. How about these people swap homes with the good tenants for a time and move in next to their recalcitrant neighbours. I suspect it won't take long for a shift in thinking. It is one thing to expect another person to put up with the horrors of a dysfunctional and dangerous neighbour, quite another to do it yourself.
And once they’ve done sorting out the uncivilised tenants, move on to the Winz beneficiaries who go into shop with their Green Card, topped up by the taxpayer, and abuse and threaten the retail staff who have to serve them. They are usually one and the same people who believe they are entitled to behave this way and expect to get away with anything.
All those that recite, "what about the children?" in these circumstances are deluded fools and should be given no truck. These "children" have little chance with delinquent parents such as these and it is not only those that abuse their neighbours, but also those that think they have little obligation to pay the subsidised rent or take reasonable care of the house that the taxpayer has kindly provided.
There needs to be a very different 'balance" and what the Govt proposes is a good start, but it needs also to include the latter categories and especially disincentivising the breeding by these people, especially when they are not fulfilling their social responsibilities in providing safe, caring environments for their offspring, getting their children's healthcare attended to and, very importantly, getting them to school. State funded welfare, in all its forms, needs a major reset - lest we have increasing societal problems with more crime, dependency, shortages and only a further inability to fund it all, as we spiral downward to a country in which we no longer wish to reside. We must demand better and voting for the likes of the "Greens" will only make things worse.
Sort of agree with anon @ 8.55 except it should go a step further. If you are a leftie and agree with the greens on their policy and find the new coalition policy of expecting housing tenants to behave when they get kicked out for abuse, threats, violence they get to go to a lefties house who will put them up.
When that leftie who feels sorry for them is abused, they still have to keep the abuser until they realise the error of their ways. Fairs fair ay! We all know the lefties are the worst hypocrites around and wouldn't go for this solution at all....
I'm living through this now with our new KO neighbours. The old KO tenants who had been there for many years were old-school blue collar, a bit rough around the edges but polite, hard-working & house proud. The new KO tenants have only been in for a few weeks and we've already got the drunken fights, burnouts & revving motorcycles. In this short time, the house (recently renovated by KO) has sustained a decent amount of damage. I suspect our new neighbours might be one of the families that KO likes to shift around.
I was thinking of selling later this year and upgrading but I can't see anybody wanting to buy my house now. I'll never buy anywhere near a KO property again, 95% of the tenants may be fine but if you get the other 5% it's a nightmare.
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