Editorial: Lucky to have a home

Housing Minister Nick Smith.

Six Tauranga families will soon have new houses to call home.

I'm sure they are thrilled at the opportunity to move into safe, healthy and affordable home, but I can't help but wonder if this is too little too late.

Housing Minister Nick Smith has announced six new Housing New Zealand homes are being developed in Tauranga to help meet local demand.

The new homes are fully insulated, have double glazing and are well-positioned to soak up the Bay of Plenty sun.

Dr Smith said the houses were also designed to meet the demands of larger families and smaller families with four- and two-bedrooms, because this was where the shortage of social housing in Tauranga was.

He said the new homes were part of Housing New Zealand's $3 billion capital investment programme across the country to improve the quality of its housing and to better match its tenants' needs in terms of location and size.

The six new homes for Welcome Bay were in addition to 12 other properties in Tauranga Housing New Zealand had acquired in the past 12 months.

These new homes are a great start but is it enough to help those in our community who are most in need?

There are 1600 state houses in Tauranga and 160 families on the waiting list to get one.

I grew up in a council house in England. We were a family of six, squished into a three-bedroom terraced house.

We were one of the lucky ones. Council estates in England often have bad reputations. Some contained rows after rows of miserable-looking flats, some were run down and most were in less than desirable areas.

However, our house was not one of the typical run-down flats and my family was grateful for the roof over our heads.

Being without a house is not a fear which only belongs to the poorest members of our community.