Aotearoa has a housing crisis. However, Auckland alone has 40,000 unoccupied houses.
Dr Anthony Hoete, a professor of architecture at the University of Auckand and director at QuakeCoRE, New Zealand Centre for Earthquake Resilience talked about issues with housing availability, how Māori housing needs can be rethought, and how different materials might solve construction issues.
Auckland council has released for consultation their proposal to rezone parts of the central suburbs for medium and high density housing development.
Casper spoke firstly to Auckland councellor Shane Henderson about proposal, what it will mean for Auckland’s housing development and how people can contribute to the feedback process.
Then, to bring in some wider perspective, Casper had a chat with Character Coalition chairperson Sally Hughes about a desire to preserve special character areas and how it might be reconciled with a need for more affordable housing.
Finally, to round out the discussion, Casper talked to Bill McKay from the Architecture department of the University of Auckland about the impact that the council’s proposal might have on the city in terms of livability, housing supply and the future of urban development.
A couple of weeks ago National Party Housing Spokesperson Chris Bishop indicated at an Auckland meeting that the party is open to making changes to housing zoning laws.
To get a clearer picture of National’s current stance on what policies are needed to allieviate the housing crisis, with a particular focus on Auckland and the discourse around special character areas and intensification, Casper spoke to National MP Dr. Shane Reti.
Casper first asked what major ongoing issues with the housing market could be alleviated by policy and how high a priority it is right now.
Lifewise is an organisation that helps people out of homelessness by providing stable housing and wrap-around support for issues like addiction, mental health, and disability.
Their program Housing First houses nearly 500 people across Aotearoa, and has a retention rate of over 90%.
Lifewise is calling on the government to form a ten-year plan that will help address the housing shortage and alleviate homelessness.
Arno spoke to Lifewise COO Ann-Marie Searchfield to find out more.
Arno then spoke to The Salvation Army director Ian Hutson.
The Salvation Army provides emergency, transitional and social housing across New Zealand.
They recently met with several parties to iron down a plan to build more state houses.
As the housing sector continues to be a pressing topic of discussion for Aotearoa, senior lecturer at the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Creative Arts and Industries in Architecture and Planning, Dr Karamia Müller, says a conversation that doesn’t occur as often is one about the needs and aspirations for Māori and Pacific housing.
Producer Sofia spoke to Müller about how Māori and Pacific housing needs and aspirations differ from the current discussions we are having about addressing the housing crisis.
Airam Magpantay is a BA (Hons) student in at the University of Auckland in Politics and International relations at the University of Auckland who recently released a report on the state of housing for the people living with disabilities in Aotearoa after completing an internship at the disability advisory service - Disability Connect.
In her report, Airam revealed that there was a significant deficiency in the availability of housing for those living with disabilities, with disabled New Zealanders struggling to find accommodation with accessible infrastructure in a market already heavily impacted by a nationwide housing crisis.
Oto spoke to Airam about her internship, her subsequent report and the state of housing for people living with disabilities in Aotearoa.
This week, Ximena speaks to Andrew for the final time in 2016. They discuss rising house prices; the prospect of the retirement age going up; and lastly about some recent possible internal changes in the Labour party, with Jacinda Ardern moving to the Mt Albert electorate and Laila Harre rejoining the Labour Party after leaving in 1989.
An occupation for the right to live in your own home is continuing in Glen Innes today. Niki has been in her state house for over 20 years and intends to stay there. A development company has issued an eviction notice which ran out last wednesday, we hear more from bFM reporter Lillian Hanly
Amanda speaks to Jordan Curtis about Sydney house prices, immigration deals in the wake of Trump's presidency, cyber security, and Australia Day or rather, Invasion Day.
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