State housing tenants thinking of taking a cash offer to move away from Auckland, could be out of luck.
Social Housing Minister Paula Bennett has suggested tenants move to places like Ashburton.
But the Government's own numbers show there's actually a shortage of state housing there too.
Vai Filimoehala and her husband Semisi are part of the changing face of Ashburton.
There's a growing Pacific community in the town and the promise of jobs to attract many more.
In Auckland there are 700 Pasifika people stuck on a waiting list for social housing and Ms Bennett says their needs could be filled in towns like Ashburton.
"There are some big Pacific Island communities outside of Auckland."
It's part of proposal to pay Aucklanders cash to take up a state house in other parts of the country.
It's based on the '3k to Christchurch' scheme, which saw nearly 2000 beneficiaries rewarded for moving to the Garden City and helping fill jobs in the Canterbury rebuild.
But Mangere Budgeting Service chief executive Darryl Evans says for some it was a chance to take the money and run and there's no guarantee it won't happen again.
"I know of some clients that have accessed this service that took the $3000. One went to Christchurch for 3 weeks and was back in Auckland, so essentially he had a taxpayer-funded holiday. The other one stayed for five weeks."
He says this policy misses the mark.
"There's going to be a focus on relocating people and no focus on building more affordable houses where we need them."
The Government's own numbers reveal Ashburton is a town that needs more houses built. It currently has just seven vacant state houses and 15 people on the waiting list.
Ms Bennett says other places like Lower Hutt have more capacity with more than 100 spare state homes.
But her Pacific poster child Ashburton is at capacity, meaning those leaving Auckland will be out of luck there.
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