Funding for emergency housing not a problem, it's finding the places on the ground, says PM

The money is there for emergency housing, PM Bill English told reporters at Parliament today. The issue is finding capacity on the ground to create the places quickly enough before the winter. Photo / Greg Bowker

Prime Minister Bill English said money for emergency housing as winter approaches is not a problem. It is getting places on the ground.

The Government announced a $354 million package in November to fund 2150 emergency houses (which will take 8600 placements a year on a three-month rotation).

"The money is there," English told reporters at Parliament today. "It is largely about capacity on the ground to create the places quickly enough before the winter."

"I think everyone is fully stretched getting that in place."

He said places were coming available as the weeks went by.

Organisations working in the emergency housing sector are closely involved in setting them up.

"They know their communities. They know who is in real need, so there will be more of those places rolling out month by months now."

There was some pressure because of the state of the housing market, he said "but the size of the response is unprecedented."

"No Government has ever spent $300 million on emergency housing and we are expanding social housing as well.

"Everyone is going as fast as they can."

Labour leader Andrew Little said whatever the Government was doing clearly wasn't enough.

"We have an extension of the crisis we all know is there."

"We are facing the winter this year with the crisis still well in hand," he said at Parliament.

"This is a Government that hasn't taken the housing crisis seriously. We have a massive shortage of housing, including social housing and emergency housing.

"What they are doing is not enough."