Salesa Jenny: Budget DebateText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeSalesa Jenny: Budget Debate[Sitting date: 07 June 2016. Volume:714;Page:11749. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]JENNY SALESA (Labour—Manukau East): Thank you for this opportunity to contribute to the Budget 2016 debate. You may recall that in my maiden speech I pledged to bring the voices of the people of Manukau East into our nation’s conversation. I came to Parliament wanting to do my best to ensure that our Government is one that works for everyone including my constituents in South Auckland as well as for ordinary New Zealanders—those hard-working people who work two full-time jobs and some who work a full-time job and an additional part-time job but they still just cannot make ends meet.Over the week before this Budget announcement there were a lot of discussions about working families living in cars working families living in garages and homelessness in New Zealand in general. I was very hopeful that Budget 2016 would actually address those folk living in cars and families living in garages. But I was bitterly disappointed because Budget 2016 does not provide relief for those families. Budget 2016 did not provide long-term solutions to comprehensively address homelessness or the housing crisis. This Budget did not deliver comprehensive solutions for homelessness or indeed for the housing crisis. This Budget was a great opportunity for the Government to show leadership in the area of housing and it did not.In Auckland where the average price of a house today is over $950000 most families that come to my office in Ōtara seeking advice do not come asking for assistance to purchase a house worth just under a million dollars. Unfortunately many of my constituents come to seek assistance because they can no longer afford to pay the high unaffordable weekly rent. Many of these working families have been pushed out of the housing market and unfortunately they are now living in cars in garages or in other such places in the freezing cold winter in Aotearoa New Zealand. Low-income families are disproportionately affected when weekly rents continue to rise and they have no control over the kinds of rents that landlords charge.Just last week the University of Otago released a study where it told us that there are over 40000 people who are now homeless. When comparing the census figures of 2013 with the census figures of 2006 and those of 2001 it is a staggering number to hear that we now have over 40000 people who are homeless in New Zealand. But New Zealand is a country where we are supposed to have a safety net for our most vulnerable children and for our elderly who are now also living in cars and garages. Under this current National Government this safety net has a big hole and it is not ensuring that the hole is patched up. The level of homeownership is the lowest that it has ever been in 65 years. What does this Budget 2016 propose to address homelessness or indeed State housing? The National Government announced $41 million for homelessness. When it was first announced by the Minister for Social Housing in this House she said that the $41 million was for 3000 new places but we know that the Minister—Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! The members who are carrying on a conversation would be better off sitting alongside one another.JENNY SALESA: We know that this Minister had to come back to this House and correct her statement because it turned out that these places were not new places after all.This is the Government of smoke and mirrors and this is the Government that when families are homeless and when we do not have enough emergency housing would actually recommend that those particular families go to live in motels—except they will have to pay back the $1200 or $1300 per week for having lived in that motel. So let us see what other solutions has this National Government come up with to address the housing crisis and homelessness? Well it has passed legislation to sell off thousands of our State houses and in this Budget it has put aside $7.5 million to sell off our State houses. This is the Government that promised us that it would not sell off any more of our assets. The last time I looked I think we could actually say that our State houses—our social housing—are indeed one of the biggest assets that taxpayers own in this country. It is yet another broken promise from this Government.Instead of ensuring that our homeless families are housed that our vulnerable children and our elderly folk who are living in cars and garages are indeed housed instead of housing themselves in a car or in a garage what does this current Government do? Its solution is to sell off the State houses precisely at the time when we are experiencing a housing crisis when rent is becoming so unaffordable and when first-home buyers are actually finding it really hard just to get their foot in the door. This National Government has sold off nearly 3000 of our State houses since 2011. At the same time we are seeing nearly 5000 people across New Zealand who are on the waiting list for a State house. These people I contend should indeed be housed. What else do we see in this National Budget of 2016? We see the social investment approach. Apparently it is to target money to the most at-risk kids. But apparently housing our most at-risk vulnerable kids is not part of this investment approach. Having a house is a basic human need. Our kids—indeed our vulnerable children especially—should be housed.But you know I am really heartened that we actually have people in Aotearoa New Zealand who get it. We have people who actually care and who are actually addressing homelessness on a practical level. I would like to acknowledge and thank Te Puea Marae in Māngere for opening up its doors to homeless people in Māngere and saying: “We are here to assist you. We are here to care for you. Indeed your right to a roof is the Government’s job and I would have also thought it was to say ‘We are here to care for you.’.” Another organisation is the Salvation Army; it has done this work for many many years. Another NGO is Monte Cecilia House which houses vulnerable families again in Māngere. And the City Mission has indeed served our homeless families for many many years. Recently I have also had Samoan and Tongan churches from my electorate reach out to me saying that they would also like to assist to feed our homeless people.But it is more than that. I am heartened because I have also had individuals reach out to me saying that they have spare bedrooms in their homes saying that they have a spare room in an office and even saying that they have land so that if people would like to come and park their caravan on that land they can also do that. Just today I have even had a builder and his wife come to me to say that they can put insulation in a garage and put carpet down so that a family can be warm. I am really heartened that we have caring people in New Zealand who step up where the Government should be stepping up to care for our vulnerable families.Two days ago in Auckland the outside temperature went down as low as 4 degrees Celsius. I can only imagine what it would be like—what it would feel like—if you actually lived in a car or if you actually lived in a garage to then also live in such a cold 4 degrees - type place. My challenge to everyone in this House but especially to those on the opposite side is to come out on 16 June. We have “Park up for Homes: Māngere”. For those members of Parliament especially on the opposite side of the House who do not know what it is like but are curious to know what it is like to live in a car come out and experience it at least for one night. Maybe then you might care a little bit more for homeless families living in cars. Thank you very much.