'Slum landlord' claim rejected

Housing Minister and Whangarei MP Phil Heatley has taken umbrage at the Opposition's housing spokeswoman Annette King calling him a "slum landlord".

Ms King said Mr Heatley's claim in 2008, when he was then in opposition, that state housing was not up to standard and he would do something about it was just "bluster". She has criticised him about cuts to Housing New Zealand's maintenance budget and over the failures of the "faster, fairer, smarter" phone line service which has replaced first-call access to housing managers.

"He is the slum landlord," Ms King said after she visited a large block of Housing NZ flats in central Auckland.

She described the site as "an example of the most appalling neglect".

"If the minister wants to see an example of his lack of action, I invite him to accompany me to 139 Greys Ave, Auckland Central, which houses an 87-flat HNZ complex," she said.

"Mr Heatley's policy of neglect has led to uncollected stinking, rotting rubbish, tenants afraid to go out of their flats because of vagrants [who sleep and urinate in stairwells and graffiti walls], dangerous flooring and filthy public areas."

But Mr Heatley said the site was an example of what he had been talking about when he took over his ministerial role.

"Obviously there are some issues to be addressed at Greys Ave and my office has been in touch with Housing New Zealand about that today. They're taking it seriously and getting on with it," Mr Heatley said.

"The issues at Grey's Ave reflect what I've been saying for years about our state housing. A lot of the stock is tired and inadequate and we're fixing that."

Ms King's tirade raised serious health and safety issues.

"The 0800 phone line is so inefficient that a caller, who rang after finding blood splattered around a lift, was told - when he finally got through - that it could be 10 working days before it was cleaned up," she said.

"Over a 100 tenants share three washing machines, contained in a communal laundry where dangerous wiring is exposed."

Mr Heatley said the Government was making sure it had the right housing stock in the right place to meet people's needs.