Andrew Little
Leader of the Opposition

MEDIA STATEMENT

17 May 2017

National’s answer to the housing crisis: One new affordable house per 100 new Aucklanders

National’s fudge of a housing plan will make Auckland even more of a speculators’ paradise, says Leader of the Opposition Andrew Little.

“National’s housing announcement is a shambles with Amy Adams unable to say how many house will be affordable or what ‘affordable’ actually means. It’s bumbling of Nick Smith proportions. No wonder Adams was trying to hide the truth, given the eventual admission that just one in five houses will be affordable and those houses will cost $650,000.

“No wonder National waited until the Prime Minister was out of the country before they announced this.

“By National’s own admission, four out five houses they want built over the next decade will be unaffordable and open for speculators to buy. We already have the lowest homeownership in 66 years – why is National prioritising the interests of speculators over families who want a place of their own?

“While as many as 17,000 unaffordable homes will be built on publicly-owned land under National’s plan, only 4,000 ‘affordable’ houses will be built over a decade.

“National plans just one new ‘affordable’ house a day while Auckland’s population is growing by over 100 a day. This is a recipe for higher house prices and rents, lower homeownership, more overcrowding, and more profits for speculators.

“After nine years of failed policies from National, it’s time for Labour’s fresh thinking on housing. National is on the side of the speculators; Labour is standing up for families and first homebuyers.

“Labour will build 50,000 houses people can afford to buy in Auckland, as part of our plan for 100,000 KiwiBuild homes nationwide. These will be genuinely affordable – under $500,000 for apartments and terraced homes, under $600,000 for stand-alones. Along with KiwiBuild, Labour will build thousands more state houses for families in need.

“Labour’s three point plan to crack down on speculators will ban overseas speculators from buying our homes, make speculators who flip houses within five years pay tax, and close the loophole that lets speculators avoid $150m of tax each year.

“Unlike National, we have a credible plan, not one stitched together from previous announcements and rehashed four months out from the election,” says Andrew Little.

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