Barry Soper: Hot air and the housing crisis

Labour Party leader Andrew Little is yet to pin down the Government on the housing crisis. Photo / Mark Mitchell

It was as though the more he yelled, the more ferocious the gravel voice sounded and the more the arms were flayed around the more intimidated his prey would become and he'd finally use the word that his attacker so wanted him to whimper - crisis.

Angry Andrew Little and his band of weary warriors have clearly decided the new year would force the admission from the suits and garish colours flashing at them from the opposite side of the bear pit.

Crisis, it's such an easy word to roll off the tongue, as Little has repeatedly shown us as he chucks it at the Government and becomes frustrated when they refuse to allow it to pass their lips.

We're going to hear it much more this year as the Half Gallon, Quarter Acre, Pavlova paradise most of them grew up in turns into the land of milk and money.

Of course there's a bloody housing crisis, but it's not going to get any better by Bill English collapsing like a Pav taken out of the oven too early and going all gooey.

The more Labour yells the word, the less likely it'll be acknowledged by the Cabinet collective.

You could say the Government's been the victim of its own success, a phrase Helen Clark used when reflecting on her own popularity and competence as Prime Minister.

It's one of the reasons so many Kiwis and Aussies are coming back to live here and why the population of Palmerston North has been moving to this country each year.

Of course that brings pressure on housing, forcing up prices.

But as existing home owners sit on their growing pile of money, those who have never been able to afford a house, get poorer as rents rise, while others who are just starting out and earning reasonable money, see their hope of home ownership diminishing as fast as their income does by just keeping ahead of being in the red.

Taking on a mortgage is out of the question with deposit creep and house price leap.

Politicians are full or promise with the housing debate sounding like a rapid fire real estate auction, which party will build the most houses when the real question is, who will be able to afford them?

They can promise as many houses as they like, the reality is there's only so much labour to do the job and not enough skilled journeymen to ensure the standard will keep the rain out.

The latest Salvation Army's war cry is an indictment on where society is at the moment, entrenched child poverty, out of control homelessness and prisons bursting at the seams.

The Sallies say to all those seeking to govern and Kiwis in general to think deeply about the social progress they want to achieve for themselves and for their children.

In other words, realistic actions speak louder than words.