My experience is that affordable housing is a major building block of healthy relationships with each other, because it means we really know each other as neighbours and as equals. When there is an increasing gap between rich and poor, it is very possible for people on different incomes to live in a physically separated world, and they quickly lose empathy with each other. In the last decade, I frequently heard talk of "losers" by those on high incomes when talking about poorer people. This language betrays a lack of empathy, and it demonstrates how disconnection leads to dangerous contempt. During the campaign, the Opposition complained that Labour's progressive income tax punished hard workers; this is plainly out of touch with reality. The reality is many low-income workers work the hardest of all New Zealanders, and I saw that in my practice, not to mention that many on lower incomes are doing jobs which help others rather than themselves. It is less likely anyone would think such things if their neighbours proved otherwise.