I have always seen UnitedFuture as a party of ideas and practical solutions. While others play politics, our unrelenting focus has been on trying to promote real solutions to the issues of the day, in line with our principles, and always looking ahead to the New Zealand of the future.

So it is with the current housing issue. We all know there are particular problems in Auckland, but the provision of adequate housing is an issue right across New Zealand. Yes, there is an issue with housing supply, but we also have an affordability issue for many young families unable to buy their first home, and there are people at the bottom of the heap who cannot even get rental accommodation. The government’s response so far has been piecemeal, while the opposition’s policy is no more than a set of trite slogans. No-one is being housed as a consequence.

That is why UnitedFuture is calling for a National Housing Summit, bringing together central and local government, home construction companies, the banking sector, and social agencies to develop a co-ordinated national housing policy, that deals with making land available for home construction; ensuring we build the number of new houses required; making sure we have the finance packages available to assist families into their new homes; and that the social agencies have support for helping the homeless.

There needs to be a comprehensive approach to the housing crisis, and sadly, we are not seeing that at present. UnitedFuture will continue to push these ideas and invites support from all who feel similarly. Adequate housing is a basic right for all New Zealanders – we cannot diminish their dignity by denying them that opportunity.

Written by Hon. Peter Dunne, UnitedFuture Leader and MP for Ohariu