29 July 2016

Government must ensure Unitary Plan produces high-quality homes

The Government must act to ensure that only warm, safe, and dry homes are built under the Auckland Unitary Plan by improving current building standards, the Green Party said today.

The Salvation Army has said this morning that there’s risk that Auckland's most vulnerable will still have shoddy housing under the new Auckland Unitary Plan.

“The Auckland Unitary Plan lays the foundations for cheaper, high quality urban living, but it needs to be backed up by government-led national standards,” said Green Party Co-leader Metiria Turei.

“If houses are being built that are not warm, safe or dry, that will be a failure of central government, not of the Unitary Plan.

“The Building Code already sets standards for new buildings but they aren’t high enough to make sure that every new home is warm, safe and dry.

“The Government also needs to step up to its responsibilities and build more houses itself.

“We can make urban neighbourhoods affordable, safe, great places to live, and fix the housing crisis.

“We can provide a variety of different homes that will suit the whole range of people in our communities, and we can do it well.

“The Green Party wants to make Auckland neighbourhoods great and houses affordable, that’s why we support the Auckland Unitary Plan,” said Mrs Turei.

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