'Morally irresponsible' of govt to subsidise hotels

Tuesday, 8 May 2018

A beneficiary advocacy group is calling on the government to scrap its subsidising of the hotel industry.

Auckland Action Against Poverty coordinator Ricardo Menéndez March says the use of hotels and motels is 'financially and morally irresponsible'.

On May 6, Housing and Urban Development Minister Phil Twyford announced a $100m funding package towards ending homelessness. 

About $63.4m will be committed over four years to expand and sustain the Housing First initiative, which allows for 116 contracted motel and hotel units to be used as short-term accommodation.

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'Hotels are not equipped to cater to the complex needs of our homeless community, and the money could instead go into further expanding the use of prefabricated homes to meet short-term needs,' March said.

People residing in temporary hotel and motel accommodation were still having to spend hundreds of dollars a week, he said.

According to a 2017 Auckland City Mission Accommodation list, the average price for a single bedroom room in one of these units ranged between $150 to $300 a week. Tenancy Services calculated the average Auckland rent for a room in a three-bedroom flat was $167 a week.

Addressing homelessness could only be achieved through the establishment of secure, safe, and appropriate permanent housing, he said.

The hotels did not provide any wrap-around support services and were essentially profit driven, he said.

'Ultimately, this Government's announcement is more about managing homelessness than putting an end to it.'

Housing First, officially launched in March last year by the Ministry of Social Development, is a two-year programme aimed at providing rough sleepers with permanent housing.

Housing Minister Twyford said he agreed that putting people up in motels was 'not ideal'.

The first preference was to help them into sustainable long-term accommodation, with transitional housing as the next option, he said.

'Unfortunately we inherited a housing market in a dire state and under increasing pressure as the need for homes continues to exceed supply.'

While long-term, permanent housing was being built, immediate housing requirements needed to be met through the contracted motel units, he said.

'As this housing becomes available, we will begin phasing out the contracting of motel units.'

Twyford denied AAAP's claims that no wrap-around services were supplied, saying transitional housing was managed by contracted providers who were skilled in supporting tenants with a range of tailored social support.

Monte Cecilia Housing Trust chief executive Bernie Smith said families and individuals were better off in a motel or hotel than sleeping in cars or on park benches.

'Particularly the chronic homeless, who have health issues, need to be in a warm, dry, safe and secure location,' Smith said.

The period which people spent in short-term accommodation was dependent on their circumstances and it could vary from a few days, to weeks or even months, he said.

However, a number of these hotels and motels had been 'gaining hugely from the homeless dilemma' by supplementing their business with an almost never-ending supply of residents, he said.

While granting millions in funding to these establishments was not the ideal option, it was more cost-effective than paying for the issues a person experienced while living on the street, he said.