Comments from a Wellington property developer today reveal that KiwiBuild is a PR stunt that won’t increase the supply of housing and solve the housing crisis, says ACT Leader David Seymour.
The Government has announced new KiwiBuild homes in Wellington, but property developer Ian Cassels says he would have been able to develop them without help from the Government.
“ACT has long questioned just how Phil Twyford’s KiwiBuild was going to increase the supply of housing without fixing the fundamental issues of red tape and infrastructure funding.
“The answer is it won’t.
“Phil Twyford is going around buying properties that would have been built by the private sector anyway, slapping a KiwiBuild sticker on them, subsidising them, and flicking them on to first homebuyers.
“The Housing Minister is absolutely right when he says that a greater supply of homes will solve the housing crisis.
“But he must act accordingly by fundamentally reforming the Resource Management Act so the private sector can get on with the job of building them.
“KiwiBuild is just a $2 billion marketing gimmick.”