Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Work smarter with a Pro licence Learn More
Parliament

Gordon Campbell | Parliament TV | Parliament Today | Video | Questions Of the Day | Search

 

Govt backtracking on housing as prices rise

14 February 2017

Govt backtracking on housing as prices rise


Housing Minister Nick Smith is already backtracking on Bill English’s suggestion he’d provide 69,000 homes in Auckland, as house prices continue to skyrocket across the country, the Green Party said today.

“The Government is fudging the numbers to create headlines they can’t back up. Meanwhile, house prices keep rising and not enough are getting built,” Green Party Co-leader Metiria Turei said.

“There’s a huge opportunity for the Government to step up and build thousands of affordable homes for people across the country, but National is shying away from that.

“The Prime Minister was reported yesterday saying the Government would provide 69,000 homes in Auckland but Housing Minister Nick Smith has already this morning had to back down from his boss’ comments saying it’s just a ‘potential’ number.

“The Auckland Housing Accord, which the Government signed up to, said Auckland had a shortage of 20,000-30,000 homes but now National thinks the nationwide shortage is only 10,000-20,000. They’re shifting the goalposts instead of building homes.

“Those numbers can’t both be accurate – not enough houses have been built in Auckland over the last few years for that to be true.

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

“Bill English and Nick Smith should stop fudging the numbers and just get on with building affordable homes for New Zealanders to live in.

“Today’s house price data from REINZ shows the housing affordability crisis is still in full swing, while National’s still sitting on the sidelines bickering about the numbers.

“It looks like the Government is going to continue relying on the private market to fix the housing crisis, which hasn’t worked and won’t suddenly start working.

“It’s pretty clear that to solve the housing crisis we need a new government that will build thousands of affordable homes, crack down on speculators, and tax property fairly,” said Mrs Turei.


ends

© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Regional Headlines



Gordon Campbell: On Dune 2, And Images Of Islam


Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture tends to be hostile to Islam when we’re sitting in the dark, with popcorn.
Any number of movie examples come to mind, beginning with Rudolf Valentino’s role (over a century ago) as the romantic Arab hero in The Sheik...
More


 
 


Government: One-stop Shop Major Projects On The Fast Track

The Coalition Government’s new one-stop-shop fast track consenting regime for regional and national projects of significance will cut red tape and make it easier for New Zealand to build the infrastructure and major projects needed to get the country moving again... More

ALSO:


Government: GPS 2024: Over $20 Billion To Get Transport Back On Track
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has released the draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport, outlining the Coalition Government’s plan to build and maintain a transport system that enables people to get to where they need to go quickly and safely... More

ALSO:

Government: Humanitarian Support For Gaza & West Bank

Winston Peters has announced NZ is providing a further $5M to respond to the extreme humanitarian need in Gaza and the West Bank. “The impact of the Israel-Hamas conflict on civilians is absolutely appalling," he said... More


Government: New High Court Judge Appointed

Judith Collins has announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister Jason Scott McHerron as a High Court Judge. Justice McHerron graduated from the University of Otago with a BA in English Literature in 1994 and an LLB in 1996... More

 
 
 
 
 
 

LATEST HEADLINES

  • PARLIAMENT
  • POLITICS
  • REGIONAL
 
 

InfoPages News Channels


 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.