“The Government’s housing policy must create the conditions for mass building, not try to divide up a shortage differently,” says ACT Housing Spokesperson Brooke van Velden....
“The Government’s housing policy must create the conditions for mass building, not try to divide up a shortage differently,” says ACT Housing Spokesperson Brooke van Velden.
“The numbers are crystal clear, not enough homes are being built in New Zealand. The price of sections has risen much faster than the price of per square metre of building or general inflation.
“Section prices have not risen because New Zealand is short of land, we’ve obviously got lots of land.
“Section prices have risen dramatically over the past 30 years because you can’t get permission to develop the land or can’t get to the land – there’s no roading or additional infrastructure required for housing development.
“Reports this morning of a relatively small subdivision in Rotorua taking two years to get consent are just today’s example of the problem.
“ACT’s answer is for the next generation to build like the Boomers.
“ACT would radically overhaul infrastructure funding, through a 30 year partnerships with central Government for each region.
“We’d then replace the Resource Management Act with legislation designed to facilitate home building, and get councils out of the building consent business.
“Industry insiders tell me that ACT’s plan is the only one that would actually work to get homes built, but the Government will no doubt focus on scapegoating some groups of New Zealanders and favour others.
“Rather than dividing, the Government should be uniting New Zealanders behind good ideas.
“The answer is not to tax, punish, subsidise or reward depending on which voter is in front of the Government at any given time.
“The answer is to create the conditions where the current generation who are starting families can build like the Boomers did.”
ENDS