David Shearer – 
There have been some cold winter days in New Zealand lately: great if you are relaxing by a toasty fire in a warm dry home. Not so great if you are somewhere cold, damp or uninsulated.
Recent census data revealed that more than 20,000 New Zealanders live in temporary shelters like boarding houses, motor camps, caravans, garages and cars, including 1605 families with children.
I wonder about the chances of those children getting ahead in life. How much can a child learn at school when they are cold, sick and uncomfortable?
Those figures do not include the 280,000 families who live in rental properties that are uninsulated.
Labour Policy
For several years, Labour has been urging the government to make it compulsory for every rental property to be warm, dry, insulated and healthy.
At our 2012 Conference, we proposed a simple, smart warrant of fitness checklist that would bring all New Zealand’s rental properties up to scratch.
Our policy would ensure that most New Zealand children are warm and dry in winter, and would save the country money: children admitted to hospital with respiratory problems and other preventable diseases are currently costing us all millions of dollars in taxes.
This year, two state-house deaths were revealed: toddler Emma-Lita Bourne, and 37-year-old Soesa Tovo both battled pneumonia, and both lived in cold, damp houses.
Finally, the government adopted a plan last month to at least insulate most rental properties.
If they had listened to us in 2012, the job could have been done by now.
Nevertheless it is a move in the right direction and will be good news for Kiwi families who are suffering in the cold.
Labour would go further than that. Insulation is important, but we want a full warrant of fitness system that will ensure every rental property is also dry, warm and healthy, with basic essentials like a kitchen and bathroom.
We need to demand the best for the health of our children – and it will save the country money.
David Shearer is Member of Parliament elected from Mt Albert Constituency in Auckland and is Labour Party’s Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Consumer Affairs.
