No support for confiscation

Business supports Government’s focus on fixing Auckland’s housing problems, but would not support land confiscation, says BusinessNZ.

BusinessNZ Chief Executive Kirk Hope says Auckland’s key issue is lack of land supply, because of restrictive council planning.

"The solution is to lift those restrictions, not impose more. Abolishing metropolitan urban limits would minimise the incentive for landowners to hold land without developing it. Land just outside the current urban metropolitan limit would lose its premium, reducing the incentive for land holding.

"The secondary problem is lack of infrastructure beyond the current urban limits. There are numerous ways this issue can be tackled, and no shortage of suggestions for achieving extension of Auckland’s infrastructure.

"Our best approach is to remove the metropolitan limits and work through the options for financing needed infrastructure. It should not rely on confiscation of private property. If property rights are not respected, then individuals and businesses lose the confidence to invest."

ENDS

© Scoop Media