Only ACT confronts the massive scale of our housing shortage

“Both National and Labour are distracted with plans to make the government build houses, but government projects can only address a tiny portion of New Zealand’s housing shortage,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“National’s magic number is 34,000 houses. Labour’s magic number is 100,000. These numbers are peanuts. ACT says we need 500,000 more houses – that’s how many we’d have if we had continued building at the same rate we did from the ‘40s to the ‘70s.

“The housing shortage is enormous, but the solutions are no mystery. The Productivity Commission has explained that we need to completely replace land use regulations in our cities, and ACT agrees. It’s crazy that we use the same land use framework in Fiordland as we do in Henderson. The next Government should announce on the 24th of September that the Resource Management Act will be replaced with two separate planning regimes for urban and natural environments – within three years.

“Anyone in the construction sector can tell you how red tape stifles development. ACT, with more MPs, will make National replace construction red tape with a basic insurance requirement, letting developers reduce costs while still being held accountable for failures.

“And if we get even a fraction of the houses we need, we’ll need a huge infrastructure boost. At the first Budget after the election, a stronger ACT will ensure infrastructure is automatically funded by letting councils collect half the GST from construction in their area, for use on vital local infrastructure.

“But the major parties continue to act like the only solution to the housing crisis is for the government to do the job of private developers. That’s why we need a stronger ACT – to make the housing market work again.”

ENDS

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