Horowhenua losing its competitive edge
More land needed for growth says economist
Economist Shamubeel Eaqub, the Zombie-town man, said Horowhenua’s competitive edge is its affordability, but warns it is quickly slipping away. He said council should release much more land through its district plan and at affordable prices to accommodate this growth and keep an edge over other regions.
“Horowhenua is seeing too much growth after decades of no growth. Affordability, that is your number one competitive edge,” he told business leaders at a recent Business After 5 meeting in Te Takeretanga o Kurahau-po¯.
He said a lot had changed in the world in the last year or so.
“Central banks do not handle the economy anymore, government do and they do not have the experience to run an economy. There is no rule book now and after extraordinary stimulus measures by our Government over Covid the economy is much more resilient that expected. This was an unprecedented intervention, normally only seen in wartimes.”
He said he believed Jacinda Ardern is a centrist, who is bold and decisive in emergencies but not too big on policy decisions, such as tax and welfare. “She feels a responsibility to represent the views of the entire country, not just the traditional Labour votes.”
He said the public health response to the pandemic has varied across the world but has economic consequences. “We have seen exceptional compliance with the lockdown rules in New Zealand and many businesses have been much more adaptive.”
He said especially provincial economies are doing well as opposed to the big cities. Job losses so far amount to 75,000. At the 2008 financial crisis this was 80,000. “Now it is much more focused on young people, women and those working in tourism. People of colour, women, the young and those in low paying jobs have been hit the hardest.”
Eaqub said governments have not taken any lessons from previous crisis, such as Sars and the global financial crisis.
While forestry took a big knock, dairy, meat and fruit industries have done well, but that may not last as the world economy slows as many countries chose the economy over people’s lives.
“Horowhenua needs a better transport network, especially with a growing population. Horowhenua needs better access to Wellington, is part of Wellington. While incomes have barely gone up, house prices and rental fees have from $200,000 for a house to $450,000 plus and rents from $250-$450 plus.
“We need to build 400 houses a year to keep up with the growth. Horowhenua has 127 families on a Housing NZ waiting list.”
He pleaded with council to release much more land for housing. “The average section here costs $200,000 plus . . . It should be $100,000. People will move here if it remains affordable and allows access to quality land.
“More land and affordable with as few restrictions as possible. These could be minimum lot sizes.”
He said the cost of debt has come down a lot and while interest rates are low, the cost of a house remains unaffordable to low income earners.
If Horowhenua loses its competitive edge “gentrification will happen”. He said to a certain extend
we can control what happens by shopping local as much as possible, engage young people in local jobs and by building more affordable houses.
“Ask people to come and do business here. Ask Government to spend money here.”