KiwiBuild boss quits after months of absence
Stephen Barclay has resigned from his role as head of KiwiBuild at the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, with immediate effect.
His resignation follows a period of uncertainty regarding the position at the housing development unit. It was reported in December that Barclay had left his position at the start of November. He started in the role on May 28 last year.
Housing Minister Phil Twyford blamed Barclay’s absence on an employment dispute.
KiwiBuild is the Labour-led Government’s plan to build 100,000 houses over 10 years.
While it has been a key plank of Labour’s policy platform, it has encountered teething issues.
In October, Twyford was criticised about the scheme’s first buyers when he admitted KiwiBuild wasn’t designed to help low-income families. Wanaka’s KiwiBuild development encountered a lack of buyers and not all the prospective buyers selected for the Onehunga development decided to go through with the purchase of an apartment. Barclay was previously chief people and transformation officer at the Ministry of Health, and before that was chief executive of the San Francisco America’s Cup Events Authority.
When he was hired, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment chief
Tremain said appointment.
Twyford’s office said he could not comment on the resignation as it was an employment issue.
Judith Collins, National’s housing spokeswoman, said taxpayers deserved answers.
‘‘It seems Stephen Barclay has taken about three months to exit the role after only being in the role about three months, or maybe four,’’ Collins said.
She said it was obvious that KiwiBuild had not captured the confidence executive Carolyn it was a significant of the New Zealand public ‘‘as much as it has captured the imagination of Phil Twyford’’.
Having a leader ‘‘not leading’’ could not have anything other than a negative impact, she said.
ACT leader David Seymour said it showed the housing programme was in crisis.
‘‘This is the danger of putting the Government in charge of a massive house-building programme.
‘‘Twyford must urgently move to cut planning red tape so that the private sector can take over and build the houses New Zealanders need.’’
Susan Edmunds