New building consents going wrong way in Auckland

New building consent numbers declined further in Auckland in May, again highlighting the National Government’s failure to address the city’s housing crisis, the Green Party said today.

Statistics NZ Building Consents data released today shows that the number of new building consents in Auckland has been trending downwards since November 2015.

“If the National’s Government’s solution to the housing crisis in Auckland is for the private sector to build more houses, it’s not working,” said Green Party Co-leader James Shaw.

“The trend for new home building consents in Auckland has been in decline since November 2015.

“The number of total new dwelling consents in Auckland has fallen since November, down from 966 to 732 consents in May.

“Auckland needs greater investment in new homes and apartments, and National’s policies are still not delivering that.

“After eight years, you’d think National would try a new plan to address the Auckland housing crisis.

“It’s increasingly clear that the only way to fix the housing crisis is to change the Government.

“The Green Party in government would seek to introduce a capital gains tax and undertake a major state-sponsored house build – both of which are stronger solutions than anything National’s done after eight years in office,” said Mr Shaw.

ENDS

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