Church leaders say garage dwelling not to be taken for granted

The Labour Party diverted a press conference that was to be held outside a supposedly overcrowded South Auckland house after its occupants denied they had housing problems.

Other media had reported there were 17 people living in the Bairds Road, Otara home including in a tent on the front lawn.

But as media waited on the street for Labour leader Andrew Little on Tuesday a man came out to say he was the owner of the house and the claims had been greatly exaggerated.

CHRIS McKEEN/FAIRFAX NZ Labour Leader Andrew Little speaks in Otara about the Auckland housing crisis.

The tent had been erected because the family were renovating, said the man, who declined to give his name.

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"They say there's 17 people living here, it's not true," he said.

CHRIS McKEEN/FAIRFAX NZ Little and local church leaders Samiuela and Lupe Tukutau discuss the housing crisis in South Auckland.

"It pisses me off. There's people out there who are actually struggling."

Labour staff then directed journalists to the nearby electorate office of Labour MPs Jenny Salesa and Peeni Henare where Little spoke.

The local MPs had been helping a family in the neighbourhood with housing issues, Little said.

However they had not wanted him to visit on Tuesday, he said.

A Labour spokesperson later said that this was not the same family as the Bairds Road household which said it was not overcrowded.

Little had been confused about which house media were talking about when he was asked, she said.

A lack of suitable housing was a huge issue in the South Auckland area, the Labour leader said.

"I'm told it's pretty much expected if you go past a garage someone will be living in it.

"This is not the New Zealand that New Zealanders want."

Prime Minister John Key sparked a debate about homelessness on Monday when he said people living in cars and garages should seek help from Work and Income New Zealand.

But Little said if people were living in hopelessly overcrowded situations they were deemed to have a roof over their heads and therefore not in an urgent enough situation.

"The reality is what (Housing New Zealand) consider somebody who is in need of housing is, it's very strict criteria.

"This is what's got to change."

A Labour government would put more resources into social housing, he said.

Lupe Tukutau, the wife of the minister at the local Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga in New Zealand, spoke alongside the Labour leader.

Around half of the church's congregation had housing problems, she said.

"It's getting worse, to a point where it's almost taken for granted."

Young couples with children could not afford to move out of their parents' houses and so often lived in the garage, paying around $100 a week in rent as well as other bills, she said.

They also felt they had to contribute in other ways, such as providing things for family functions.

"Of course you feel you're staying in the garage, you're obligated to help out," Tukutau said.

Asked what would happen if the housing crisis wasn't addressed, she answered: "Slums. More people building their own little tent or whatever."