Nats’ housing ‘a shemozzle’
Labour blasts Govt policies to tackle shortage of homes as a phenomenal set of failures
2013 2014
Prime Minister Bill English once said Labour’s plan to build 100,000 homes in 10 years would make New Zealand “look like the back end of Moscow.”
Four years on, a huge Government home building programme of 34,000 homes over 10 years was announced as part of Budget 2017, although there are likely to be further social housing policy announcements on Thursday.
Labour housing spokesman Phil Twyford is not impressed with that announcement or any of the measures over the past four Budgets.
“What we’ve seen for the last four years is an annual parade of housing
2015
policies designed to be seen to be responding to public pressure to do something about the housing crisis. But actually they have been a pretty phenomenal set of failures,” he said.
Fewer than 2000 houses had been built in special housing areas since they were designated for fast-track consenting in 2013.
“When you look at the problem in Auckland, a shortfall of 40,000 that built up, and is getting worse by 5000 to 6000 every year, special housing areas have virtually made no difference.” Moves to reduce the cost of building material for new-home building had been “a complete shemozzle” with costs actually going up. While there was building activity in Auckland it was well below what was needed. To keep up with population growth it needed 16,000 extra a year and only 10,000 new houses had been consented in the past 12 months. Twyford is also critical of National’s mass building programme, saying the 500ha estimate of surplus land was excessive, that too much of
H2016
For an interactive graphic see insights.nzherald.co.nz
2017
Housing New Zealand’s land assets would end up in private hands and that there would not be enough affordable houses. “That land is gone forever — future generations are going to need state housing,” he said.
Between 20 per cent and 50 per cent of the for-sale homes will be affordable in the Crown Building Project, below $650,000.
But Twyford says Labour would build stand-alone houses for $600,000 and apartments and town houses for $500,000.
He wants to see more measures in the Budget for social housing and emergency housing after “the winter of misery” last year.