Collins calls for housing to be easier
AUCKLAND: National is calling on the Government to introduce urgent temporary legislation to make it easier to build houses.
Leader Judith Collins laid out the opposition’s priorities in a state of the nation speech in Auckland yesterday afternoon.
She said New Zealand needed to ‘‘harness the upheaval caused by Covid19 to drive meaningful change’’.
Ms Collins highlighted five priority areas where the National Party wants to see urgent progress: Covid19 response, economic recovery, hardship and public safety, housing and the tech sector.
‘‘It is important that we hold the Government to account because when they fail, New Zealanders pay the price through higher house prices, lower incomes, higher unemployment and the risk of further Covid19 lockdowns,’’ she said.
Ms Collins said a law change was needed to give the Government the power to rezone council land, making room for 30 years’ worth of growth in housing supply.
‘‘Tinkering with who can buy a house. . . as Labour has done — is again about the symptoms, not the cause.
‘‘It is too hard to build a house in New Zealand, it’s as simple as that.
‘‘We need to make it drastically easier.’’
Ms Collins said she had written to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern yesterday, suggesting a special select committee be established immediately to develop emergency legislation.
‘‘Given their track record on KiwiBuild, I just don’t trust the Government to deliver quick changes to get more houses built.
‘‘So, today, I am calling on the Government to introduce urgent temporary legislation to make it easier to build a house, until the permanent RMA reforms are completed.
‘‘It was done by National following the Canterbury earthquakes. It’s now urgent for the rest of the country,’’ she said.
Ms Collins said National’s first priority would be the Covid19 response and ensuring the border was kept secure.
‘‘New Zealanders can’t afford another lockdown. But even more than this, failing to secure vaccinations for our frontline workers, border staff and those who work in and around managed isolation and quarantine shows a massive disregard for the sacrifice New Zealanders made last year. It is not good enough.
‘‘We need to match Australia’s schedule. We should be like Singapore, rolling out the vaccine to frontline workers and those vulnerable New Zealanders who need it urgently,’’ she said. — The New Zealand Herald