Rotorua Daily Post
  • Rotorua Daily Post home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Residential property listings
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Rural
  • Sport

Locations

  • Tauranga
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales

Weather

  • Rotorua
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Rotorua Daily Post

Letters to the editor: Housing crisis didn't sneak up on us

Rotorua Daily Post
17 May, 2021 09:00 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

The housing crisis was deliberately created by a party which has never believed that the poor should be homeowners at all, writes a reader. Photo / File

The housing crisis was deliberately created by a party which has never believed that the poor should be homeowners at all, writes a reader. Photo / File

Zizi Sparks, in her editorial, writes that the housing crisis "snuck up on us slowly but surely".

Really? Where was she living during National's nine disastrous years in power?

Between 2010 and 2017, it introduced three policies that ensured a housing crisis would arise.

First, it began selling state houses, most of which were bought by landlords who immediately doubled the rent.

As homeless appeared on the streets, in doorways and under bridges, National then decided foreigners could buy up as many houses as they liked.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

As the numbers of homeless grew into the thousands, National doubled down and allowed unlimited immigration, with no new housing or infrastructure to service all these people. It was a perfect storm.

By September 2017, voters had had enough of watching families sleeping in cars, in tents in the middle of winter and bunking two or three families in a garage. The Government was dumped by the people, horrified that New Zealand had allowed this to happen.

Economists, at the time of the election, agreed it would take a generation to fix the problem.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The housing crisis was deliberately created by a party which has never believed that the poor should be homeowners at all.

Lizzie Murdoch
Mangakino

Rotorua more than adequately represented by Māori

Having spent some years on the council, like Glenys Searancke, I have listened to many councillors speak on behalf of Te Arawa over the years.

As Rotorua Residents and Ratepayers member Glenys Searancke rightly points out, the Rotorua council has always had several councillors representing Te Arawa, and they have been elected at large as a result of standing and being counted.

As pointed out, four of the 10 councillors at the moment are Māori.

In my view, Rotorua has historically been more than adequately represented by Māori, which makes a mockery of this Government's claim of lack of Māori representation, and hence its undemocratic change in legislation.

(Abridged)

Mike McVicker
Rotorua

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Violence is a mistake

Regards the letter about corporal punishment (Letters May 14) - that old chestnut re the rod is in my opinion enough to make one cringe, especially when followed by what I believe is that tired homily about it never doing any harm.

If history proves anything it is that treating violence with violence is a mistake.

Mike Byrne
Rotorua

The Rotorua Daily Post welcomes letters from readers. Please note the following:
• Letters should not exceed 200 words.

• They should be opinion based on facts or current events.

• If possible, please email.

• No noms-de-plume.

• Letters will be published with names and suburb/city.

• Please include full name, address and contact details for our records only.

• Local letter writers given preference.

• Rejected letters are not normally acknowledged.

• Letters may be edited, abridged, or rejected at the Editor's discretion.

• The Editor's decision on publication is final. No correspondence will be entered into.

Email editor@dailypost.co.nz

Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Rotorua Daily Post

Mixed verdicts delivered for Tribesmen accused of murdering one of their own

11 Jul 05:00 AM
Rotorua Daily Post

Pair deny charges over death of Paige Johnson in alleged hit-and-run

11 Jul 12:26 AM
Rotorua Daily Post

Home-schooled students ride 755km to Parliament for equal sports access

10 Jul 11:07 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Mixed verdicts delivered for Tribesmen accused of murdering one of their own

Mixed verdicts delivered for Tribesmen accused of murdering one of their own

11 Jul 05:00 AM

Mark 'Shark' Hohua died in June 2022 after a violent assault over money.

Pair deny charges over death of Paige Johnson in alleged hit-and-run

Pair deny charges over death of Paige Johnson in alleged hit-and-run

11 Jul 12:26 AM
Home-schooled students ride 755km to Parliament for equal sports access

Home-schooled students ride 755km to Parliament for equal sports access

10 Jul 11:07 PM
Heavy rain warning issued for Bay of Plenty, up to 140mm expected

Heavy rain warning issued for Bay of Plenty, up to 140mm expected

10 Jul 10:57 PM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Rotorua Daily Post e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Rotorua Daily Post
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP