ANDREW LITTLE’S HOUSING POLICY WILL FURTHER DESTROY WELLINGTON
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Wellington mayoral candidate Andrew Little has unveiled a Labour Party housing plan that will further destroy Wellington and make the city even more unaffordable for residents.
The Labour Party’s proposals for housing will not stimulate the local economy, will see a continuation of high rates that hurt those on fixed incomes (students, pensioners and first home buyers most) and drive residents and businesses to leave.
“In his council housing policy, Andrew Little says Wellington ‘simply isn’t an affordable place to live’ yet he is proposing policies that will only make the problem worse,” Wellington City Councillor and mayoral contender Ray Chung says.
“The most damning aspects of Labour’s plan for Wellington are two fold: continuation of the charade that it’s ratepayers’ responsibility to subsidise new housing and that the city council needs to expand social housing. Both of these are the responsibility of central government and are already paid for by our taxes. Wellington ratepayers should not be paying twice for these.”
“The Labour Party candidates know their policies will cause hardship because they’re busy promoting schemes like cheap loans and reverse mortgages to help homeowners pay their rates. That’s how bad it’s got. The ratepayer assistance scheme is another way to steal your wealth. The council should not be looking at extra ways for ratepayers to pay their rates, the council should be lowering the rates take.”
Social housing is set to cost Wellington ratepayers $1 billion over the next decade, which is an absolute travesty. People can barely afford to live in the city as it is. A city under Labour Party ruled city council will only aggravate and increase the financial burden that ratepayers are already struggling to deal with, Ray says.
Eastern ward candidate for council, Michelle McGuire says, “the local economy will be stimulated by cutting the financial rates and compliance demands of council, lowering the commercial differential, and streamlining the regulatory process for building (which most councillors agree with but haven’t done anything substantive about it since being elected). Wellington’s population has stagnated. Until we make Wellington more affordable for residents and businesses, no one will be rushing to move here.”
Michelle McGuire is one of the Independent Together candidates along with Paula Muollo (Southern ward), Ken Ah Kuoi (Eastern), Stuart Wong (Lambton) and Guy Nunns and Ray Chung (Western Onslow). These candidates have agreed on a set of pillar policies that include getting a zero rates increase for ratepayers, bringing the council back to core priorities and services, and ensuring that party politics is kept out of council decision making.
“The Independent Together candidates are the only team with policies that will ease the financial burden of ratepayers. Andrew Little’s policies are hollow in substance. His policies will add to the cost-of-living crisis for Wellingtonians and lead to further population degrowth. He will not spend your hard-earned money wisely and respectfully,” Michelle says.
“It’s time to elect people who will put Wellingtonians first, not their political party. It’s time to end party politics around the council table.”
