Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

Kainga Ora is taking a step in the right direction. They have announced a tougher approach to rental debt, but they’re doing it in a fair way which hopefully gives people who intend to pay their rent, but have hit a hurdle, a chance to get back on track.   The debt was kinda crazy. Between 2017 and 2023 the total debt owed to Kainga Ora by its tenants increased from $1million to $21 million.   Now, obviously this period included the Covid days and cost of living crisis, and it would be a little heartless for the government to kick people out of homes during a lockdown, or due to a job loss caused by an unprecedented event like a pandemic. But $21 million - it's a big number!  Kainga Ora has worked hard to reduce the debt. It’s now down from $21.6 million in January 2024 to $16.1 million this January.  It’s a good effort, but clearly things have got out of control, and we're never going to get on top of the numbers.   So the Board of Kainga Ora has decided to help some tenants with sig