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Council gets the money and the bag

Council gets the money and the bag

Press release: ACT New Zealand
Janaury 27, 2016. 1:05pm

The Government has let Auckland Council off the hook, gaining no concessions on land supply or rate rises, according to ACT Leader David Seymour.

“Writing a big cheque was the time to bring Auckland Council to the table,” says Mr Seymour, “but instead the Council got away with the money and the bag.”

“The government could have set up ongoing incentives for the council to provide infrastructure. Instead, with no sign that the council will focus on core services, the largesse of the Len Brown era will continue.

“The Government knows that Auckland Council’s obsession with densifying the city is cutting off land supply and pushing the housing market out of control.

“The Government could have insisted that the Council abolish Rural Urban Boundaries, but they remain in place. Research shows that the Rural Urban Boundary can increase the price of residential land by as much as nine times over.

“Instead the Government has put taxpayer money into continuing Len Brown’s preferred style of urban planning. This is despite this week’s release of the Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey again confirming that restrictions on cities growing out lead to price spikes.”

ENDS


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