State housing under Labour: longer waits and more privatisation

State housing provision continues to be substandard under the Labour Government. The Herald reports that 'Poor families in desperate need of accommodation are waiting almost half a year for a state house.' Whereas in 2001 the average wait was 71 days, this has rocketed up to 176 days. Despite the major accommodation shortages, the Government has also only built about 7000 new states houses, which does not come close to replacing the 13000 state houses previously sold off by National. What's more, according to the article, Housing Minister Chris Carter is considering another state housing sell off, and has instructed Housing NZ Corp 'to explore whether it should retain expensive properties as they become vacant.'