Tuesday, 28 July 2015, 2:57 pm Press Release: ACT New Zealand
Good politics, poor policy
July 28, 2015.
2:45pm
“Funnelling immigrants into the regions through
adjustments of our points system may be good politics, but
it’s poor policy,” says ACT Leader David
Seymour.
“The policy is clearly intended to release
pressure on Auckland housing, but it only adds to a long
list of piecemeal policy tinkering that avoids the
comprehensive RMA reforms needed to free up Auckland’s
inflexible housing supply.
“The problem is that it
changes none of the long-term incentives for locating in
Auckland or the regions. Auckland attracts immigrants
because its economy is booming compared to the rest of the
country. This simple fact won’t change until the regions
are allowed to spark their own booms by utilising their
natural resources, including mineral wealth.
“Trying to
force immigrants to settle in particular parts of the
country is more trouble than it’s worth. In the Epsom
electorate, schools devote full time employees to ensuring
students live in the right suburb – enforcing these living
arrangements is time consuming and
invasive.”
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