Phil Twyford
MP for Te Atatū

Housing Spokesperson

MEDIA STATEMENT

1 June 2016

Government gives up as average Auckland house nears $1 million

With the average Auckland house price approaching $1 million it is clear the Government has given up on fixing the housing crisis, says Labour’s Housing spokesperson Phil Twyford.

“The Government has run up the white flag. It has admitted defeat. None of its housing policies have had any lasting impact and the latest QV numbers show the market is running hot again.

“Whatever the Government is doing, it is not working.

“First home buyers are shut out, speculators are running riot, mortgage slaves are handing all their hard-earned to the Aussie banks and we’ve got families living in cars and campgrounds.

“Having allowed the housing crisis to spiral out of control over eight years in government, the only thing National has left is to blame the Auckland Council for the housing crisis.

“Stung by public disappointment with its Budget, the Government has been in full-scale blame mode, picking a fight with Auckland Council to distract from its own failings.

“Tomorrow the Government releases its draft National Policy Statement (NPS), which it promised eight years ago in its 2008 election manifesto.

“If the NPS is going to have any positive impact, it must be accompanied by new approaches to finance the $17 billion of new infrastructure Auckland needs. It must also abolish the urban growth boundary, and replace it with a smarter way of managing the city’s expansion.

“If the NPS only calls for the incremental injection of new land into supply that will simply feed the speculative market,” Phil Twyford says.

ENDS

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