Housing New Zealand's decision to replace its front-line services with a call centre has drawn criticism in Parliament as well as in Tauranga.
From April, Housing New Zealand (HNZ) community offices will only be available by appointment.
An expanded call centre is expected to be the new point of contact for customers needing housing assistance. HNZ has said the change will enable the agency to deliver a more consistent level of service. But Labour says the call centre approach will take both the "public" and "service" out of HNZ's public service role.
Local Tauranga community centres say the decision will lead to "disaster" in communities that already struggle, even with the help they have been receiving from the government agency.
Welcome Bay Community Centre co-ordinator Gerry Purcell said the loss of front-line housing staff would negatively impact the community. "If they think that's improving their service, I'm sorry, it's not. There's a need for personal contact for the people in Housing [New Zealand] houses. To be eligible you have to be low socio-economic, they are not as well educated in general ... they need help," he said.
Richard Wagstaff, national secretary for the Public Service Association, the country's public sector union, labelled the HNZ move irresponsible.
He said that, as a social landlord, HNZ had a duty to care for its tenants - a responsibility that was being ignored as the agency shut its offices to clients. "It's illogical, Housing New Zealand is best placed to link tenants to the other social services they may need and it's played a vital role in doing that up to now."
Merivale Community Centre manager Graham Cameron said more than 200 of the 890 houses in Merivale were HNZ-tenanted and, without the assistance of frontline HNZ staff, there would be an increase in community difficulties.
"In my opinion, it spells disaster for communities [like Merivale] to try and manage without the support of agencies like Housing New Zealand. They're not just landlords, they're helping people find support. Us, as an organisation, I can see an exponential curve for people that need support. It's a big issue for us," he said.
Labour housing spokeswoman Annette King said the Government's move to downsize its staff was a mistake. "Replacing personal contact with a faceless, automated phone system cannot possibly address the complexity of issues tenants face."
HNZ general manager tenancy services Kay Read said the agency planned to have an extra 48 people based in Porirua and Manukau, answering phones in the call centre, which would operate 24 hours a day. "These changes are about delivering a more consistent level of service, but also allow us to save money, to provide a greater return to the taxpayer on the $15 billion New Zealand has invested in state housing," she said.