State housing tenants to march on Beehive

A small group of protestors who are marching through Glen Innes over the privatisation of state housing in the community. Photo / Dean Purcell

Government’s plans to sell state houses draws protesters and petition to Parliament.

State house tenants from around New Zealand plan to march on Parliament tomorrow against Government plans to sell an initial 1600 houses in Tauranga and Invercargill.

Ariana Paretutanganui-Tamati, organiser of the State Housing Action Network (Shan), said about 100 tenants were likely to join the hour-long march from Wellington's Civic Square at noon.

Vanessa Kururangi, who co-ordinates Shan's branch in Tauranga, where all 1250 local state houses are for sale, said about seven tenants from Tauranga and 12 from Hamilton would represent 80 to 100 tenants who turned out to a public meeting in August.

"We would love to take more of our tenants, but trying to fundraise to get people down there is a little bit out of our reach," she said.

Rachael Goldsmith, from Invercargill, where the city's 370 state houses are for sale, said about 60 tenants attended a public meeting but only two would be flying to Wellington, carrying about 500 signatures on a petition to stop the sales.

Eight from Auckland's Tamaki Housing Group are also taking more signatures.

The Treasury is due to call this month for expressions of interest from parties who would buy or lease the houses in both cities.

In Tauranga, an iwi consortium submitted "a detailed commentary" to the Treasury on September 25 and is due to announce an agreement with an intended tenancy manager this week.

Allan Pollard of Masterton-based Trust House liquor licensing trust, which bought 500 Wairarapa state houses in 1999, declined to say whether his group would take on the management contract.

IHC spokeswoman Gina Rogers said the organisation's Accessible Properties was still in the market for the Tauranga homes.

In Invercargill, Mayor Tim Shadbolt said he held a meeting for potential buyers including Ngai Tahu, Presbyterian Support Southland and Pact Group, a Dunedin-based charity which runs 150 houses mainly for people with intellectual disabilities and recovering from mental illness.

Peter Wards, chief executive of Presbyterian Support Southland, said his group no longer expected to be part of the process.

But Louise Carr, of Pact Group, said Pact was interested in buying all 370 state houses in Invercargill, and Ngai Tahu spokesman Julian Wilcox said the iwi had formed a working party on the issue.

A spokeswoman for Horizon Housing, based in Queensland, said the company had no update on its stated position that it "looks forward to working in partnership with local providers" of social housing in New Zealand.