National has revealed its plan to crack down on anti-social state housing tenants.
Its policy is called 'Remind, Remedy and Remove', and would allow the Government to evict badly behaved tenants.
Right now 13,000 Kiwis are waiting for public housing. National leader Simon Bridges says too many good families are missing out. He says too many in these homes are antisocial and are breaking the rules.
"There are people in houses who are intimidating, who are peddling drugs, who won't change their ways," he says.
And for those who aren't changing, Bridges is considering a new plan. It's called 'Remind, Remedy, and Remove'.
A housing tenant would be given a warning when there's bad behaviour. Then they would be given a remedy, or assistance, to help them sort things out.
"If that doesn't happen though, we will remove them," Bridges says.
Bridges says anti-social behaviour isn't uncommon - he's seen it at home in Tauranga.
But there are concerns from Mangere Budgeting Services and the Salvation Army. They say it's too tough on the most vulnerable.
"For me it's punitive, it's slapping people when they're down," says Darryl Evans, chief executive of the Mangere Budgeting Services Trust.
"It does have the potential to be punitive and unhelpful to the kind of people we're trying to help," adds Ian Hutson, of the Salvation Army.
Bridges, though, insists that it's about helping deserving families.
"[It's about] not being a soft touch but firm and fair," he says.
National's other discussion documents released on Monday looked at housing, infrastructure, and transport. There are numerous other plans for social housing, including a dollar-for-dollar scheme for homeless shelters, and new targets to reduce waiting times for social housing.
When it comes to transport and infrastructure, National wants to repeal the RMA, repeal the Auckland fuel tax, and fine cyclists who don't use lanes properly.
In a statement, Housing Minister Megan Woods told Newshub that National is showing its true colours when it comes to social housing tenants, and would rather throw people on the street than deal with their complex needs.
