The Government is being accused of exploiting charities to push through its state house sell-off plan, Radio New Zealand reports.
Labour says the Government has used the Salvation Army's good name to reassure the public that houses will be sold to charities, when in it actually plans to sell them to private companies.
The Salvation Army has decided not to buy state houses due to a lack of resources.
In Parliament yesterday, minister responsible for Housing New Zealand Bill English said he could not rule out the idea that state houses could be sold to private developers.
But English said anyone who wanted to buy state houses, with low-income and vulnerable tenants in them, would need to go through the process of registering as a community housing provider.
Housing Lobby spokesperson Sue Henry said the Government had softened up the public by reassuring people that charities, rather than investors, would take on the state houses.
"We've said right from day one that the intent was always to flog them off to the speculators," Henry said.
"And we've also believed that the charities and the iwi were just the Trojan horse to carry the baton so the other reforms could be pushed through."