'Desperate' family now on their own

Te Tai Tokerau MP Kelvin Davis has washed his hands of the family he wrote about in his Northland Age column last week, who he described as having been failed at every turn.

The parents and five children had been living in a van, but the pressures had seen the parents separate. They had been desperate to find a home but had not been successful, and had not been helped by government agencies.

Then everything changed, desperation giving way to a sense of entitlement.

Mr Davis said his office had spent around 40 hours on the family's case. Along with the Ministry for Social Development in Whangarei they had "moved Heaven and Earth" to find a four-bedroom HNZ house in Whangarei.

"I told MSD that an ideal short-term outcome would be for the family to be united and have a roof over their heads by Christmas, and MSD delivered," he said.

"We are very grateful to the ministry for its urgent response; a house was found, but the family decided they didn't like it, and told us they had the right to reject three houses before they were obliged to accept one.

"In the space of a week this family have gone from desperate to a sense of entitlement. They are on their own now; we won't waste another second of our time on them.

"They were also offered a rent-free two-bedroom house, until they sorted their situation out, by a man who read of their plight last week. This too was declined. Maybe they were after a sea view as well, but for whatever reason they have turned down two homes, which must surely be better than bouncing from family to friends and back to family again, or living in their car.

"The time spent by my staff running around for nothing is time taken away from helping people who really do want help," he added.

"I am really proud of my workers, who went beyond the call of duty only to have their efforts wasted."

He also had praise for the MSD, WINZ and HNZ, which he said had pulled out all the stops, again for no result.

His office had also taken a call from a woman in Waitangi who was "desperate" to move to Kaitaia. A good deal of time and effort was spent helping her find a place, a bond and transport to Kaitaia, only for her to change her mind.

"My staff are there to serve, not slave for people who can't sort their priorities out," Mr Davis said.