Andrew Dickens: Emergency housing issues another example of public sector failure
(Photo / 123RF)
The sorry saga of New Zealand’s use of motel units as emergency housing stuttered on today.
This time it was Ministry of Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni waffling away about how much wrap around care is provided to those in the housing.
Asked about the cost of damage to the units caused by tenants she claimed it was impossible to calculate as the MSD accounting systems were, quote, “too clunky”.
This spurred a flurry of angry incredulous texts and calls regarding what seemed to be a laissez faire attitude towards taxpayers money. One texter asked if MSD had heard of Excel or any other proprietary applications. Landlords always know exactly how much money has been spent on repairs. It’s their money after all and it’s tax deductible maintenance.