Margaret Martin, Sisters of Mercy Wiri, and NZCCSS Council member, has penned this perceptive insight into housing.
GOING DOWN
State house numbers going down
In 2013, 69,000 owned by the Crown.
People sleep in garages, cars and on the floor
while MSD waiting lists continue to soar
Men, women and children out in the cold
And houses for the homeless are empty or sold.
The social housing experiment begins to kick in
Reduce the state stock and pocket the win.
A fiscal model becomes the norm
the private market will transform.
State house numbers going down
In 2015, 67,000 owned by the Crown.
Houses are sold or demolished in a flash
And new builds lag for not enough cash
No crisis English, Smith and Bennett declare
Disclaiming any national despair.
Down, down, down the houses go
For little made boxes the vendors crow
Houses being built but not for the poor
Auckland South families living door to door.
Developers profit from land for SHAs*
Their legacy, narrow streets crammed with cars
Communities and neighbourhoods now blighted
This ghetto type planning quite short-sighted.
State house numbers going down
In 2016, 64,000 owned by the Crown.
Come on people we must speak out
A merciful response we must shout
Short term stays – motels and marae
“No solution” is our cry.
Build, tenant, repair and maintain
This will relieve our people’s pain
Direct provision is a nation’s resource
Not to be replaced by a market force.
Secure, affordable housing offers hope
Families can settle, participate and cope
Children’s life chances better protected
When homes and communities are connected.
Stop state house numbers going down
It’s time to build, build, build in every town
Saving our housing heritage is a worth a fight
Shelter for all is a universal right.
*SHAs Special Housing Areas
~ Margaret Martin,
Sisters of Mercy Wiri
Margaret Martin is a Sister of Mercy and registered social worker with a particular interest in social justice, living and working in Wiri, Auckland, for over 25 years.
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