The implications for low income single women of New Zealand government housing policy reform : A dissertation submitted for the degree of Bachelor of Parks and Recreation Management Honours at Lincoln University, Canterbury

Abstract

In the December 1990 budget, the New Zealand Government announced a number of reforms to Government housing provision. The new policies will result in a shift in Government housing assistance from direct provision to a reliance on private mechanisms and an income supplement. At the time the policies were announced there was concern that the changes had occurred without public consultation and that their was inadequate research into the implications of the policies for recipients of Government housing assistance.

The focus of this dissertation, is on the implications of the proposed reforms for single low income women. At the time the reforms were announced, female headed households comprised the majority of state tenants. Consequently, any changes to the management of state housing provision would have specific implications for low income single women. Therefore, this dissertation will focus specifically on the changes to state housing policy and the implications of the reforms announced in 1990 for low income single women's access to housing.