Millions paid out to house homeless

Gisborne’s top-earning emergency accommodation provider The Colonial on Gladstone Motel received $1.8m through emergency housing special needs grants last year. Picture by Liam Clayton

Four Gisborne motels, residents park paid over $1m from emergency accommodation grants in 2022

Some Gisborne motels are still earning more than $1 million a year providing emergency accommodation for the Government, despite a drop in grants and the number of providers.

Emergency housing suppliers here were paid a total of $12.155m by the Ministry of Social Development last year to house the homeless, an Official Information Act (OIA) response received by The Gisborne Herald from the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) shows. That was down $145,000 on the previous year, while the number of providers dropped to 38, a decrease from 51 the previous year.

Between January 1 and December 31 of 2022, emergency housing suppliers were given 2844 Emergency Housing Special Needs Grants — down from 3036 in the previous year.

The $1.8m (through 282 grants) paid out to The Colonial on Gladstone Motel was the most paid to an individual provider in Gisborne while Albert Residents Park, BK’s Palm Court Motor Lodge, Highway Motel and Travellers Inn Motel all received more than $1m last year.

The Colonial declined to comment when contacted.

MY Gold Investments, which operates the Tatapouri Bay Oceanside Accommodation campground and is co-owned by former Gisborne mayor Meng Foon, received $384,000 last year and $451,000 the previous year.

Speaking to The Gisborne Herald, Mr Foon said the situation of people with no homes here was an “appalling” state of affairs.

“There are 606 people on the waiting list today and at an average of four people per application, that is over 2300 people in desperate need of a warm, decent home.

“This situation has definitely got worse since 2018 when we had only one cabin for emergency housing when we bought the camp.

“We were asked by MSD and MBIE  (Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment) to take on more; it was a desperate situation as people had nowhere to go.

“I saw and met families who were staying in their cars and beach tents — a desperate situation for whānau, especially with children. We are a compassionate whānau, so we helped the plea of MSD and MBIE to house people with nowhere to go.

“At present we have three cabins and about eight people in total for emergency housing. Our camp has a camping licence for 180 guests in total.”

Tourism accommodation had not been impacted, he said.

“They appreciate the quality of our accommodation, the grounds and facilities — many are coming back.

“We appreciate the local people supporting us during the Covid lockdown times as many of our guest celebrated wedding anniversaries, birthdays, engagements and other milestone events.”

Latest data from MSD website shows for the first six months of this year, a further $5.15m was paid out to motels here.

“Demand for housing across New Zealand is growing and many people are experiencing a severe and immediate need,” MSD housing group general manager Karen Hocking said.

“This demand is generated by a shortage of affordable housing driving up house prices and rents. People on low incomes are most affected by rising housing costs and many seek financial help through the ministry.

“The Emergency Housing Special Needs Grant (EH SNG) is available to people who cannot remain in their usual place of residence, if any, and do not have access to other accommodation which is adequate for them or their family’s needs.

“The ministry pays EH SNGs directly to the accommodation supplier and assistance is generally granted for up to seven nights but can be extended dependant on individual circumstances.

“The ministry recognises that motels are not a long-term solution or the solution that we want to deliver for people who are potentially in a vulnerable situation. They provide a short-term solution while more sustainable options are progressed.”