The Green Party is calling out the Government for making it easier for wealthy overseas investors to buy a house here while many renters and home-buyers cannot afford to.
"Rather than making home ownership easier, the Government is rolling out the red carpet for rich investors," says the Green Party spokesperson for Housing Tamatha Paul.
"Housing is a human right, but this Government treats it as a business where profit comes first. The Government's entire economic plan is based on rich people trading houses back and forth when we desperately need productivity and more jobs.
"Making it easier for offshore interests to buy up our housing will make housing more expensive. Real estate agents will have every incentive to boost prices to $5m in order to sell to this new wealthy market, further shunting struggling renters and home-buyers out of contention.
"Last week Christopher Luxon said he wanted to see house prices increase, and now he's working to make that happen despite many crying out for the ability to access home ownership and all of the benefits that come with it.
"The housing crisis in Aotearoa is getting worse. Making our economy into a game of monopoly that only a few people can play while the rest endure mouldy, expensive, insecure housing is just embarrassing.
"A Green Government will make housing more affordable by capping rent increases, building thousands of affordable homes, ending tax loopholes for property speculators, and enabling new homes to be built throughout our towns and cities," says Tamatha Paul.
