Labour Confirmed It Will Cut Accommodation Supplement In September Last Year

"Labour MPs confirmed to the Manukau Courier in September last year that the Accommodation Supplement will be cut [see Thursday September 24 1998 attached]. But they wouldn't say by how much", said Housing New Zealand Minister, Tony Ryall.

"Obviously, Labour MPs thought their frank comments to the Manukau Courier wouldn't be discovered.

"What this article shows is that Labour has many questions to answer about their housing policy.

"Neither Mr Kelly or Ms Clark have confirmed that Labour-Alliance will not cut the Accommodation Supplement or their alternative Accommodation Benefit. There has been not one "yes" or "no" from either.

"The 310,000 families receiving income related help with their rent through the Accomodation Supplement deserve to know how much their income will be cut by Labour-Alliance.

"I have released a copy of the article in reply to Mr Kelly's carefully worded statement, which noticeably did not pledge Labour to maintaining the Accommodation Supplement at its current level", said Mr Ryall.