The Wire with Max

This week's Wire Worry Week theme is Housing Crisis. Today, producer Lisa Boudet looks into Aotearoa's "ghost homes": houses that are left inoccupied by their owners. 

While we wait for the 2018 census data to ba analysed, the previous figures of 2013 showed 185.000 houses in New Zealand had been listed as empty, with about 3/4 having effectively no one living in them at the time the data was collected. Earlier this month, the government announced a $100 million plan to fight homelessness in the country, including $37 milion in temporary motel accomodation.

Now voices, like political activist John Minto's, are rising saying another solution is taxing owners of underutilised houses.

Vancouver, Canada, has chosen this path. Every house that has not been rented for at least 4 months of a given year will be taxed 1% of its assessed value. This year, the city has collected CAN$30 million. 

So, should New Zealand follow in Vancouver's footsteps?

In this Wire Worry Week: housing. Since last year’s election, Labour have planned to build 100,000 affordable homes for their scheme - Kiwi Build. With this year’s Budget having been announced last Thursday, the government has further detailed how this will be funded. The housing developments will take place over a decade, with the first 30 being constructed now, at the McLennan site in Papakura. Mary-Margaret spoke to Housing Minister Phil Twyford.

Lucy Austin speaks to Tania Mead from Just Speak, a criminal justice reform advocacy group, about the governments recent plans to scrap the Waikato mega-prison.

 The group had been advocating against the mega-prison since its proposal and the question now is what to do next?

Within the climate of a swelling prison population Tania explores some of the wider issues that need to be addressed to combat this issue. 

Producer Laura Kvigstad, talks with professor of economics and innovation, Christoph Schumacher and Head of Massey's Education Institute, John O'Neill on what this prioritises and where there may be some short falls.