PRESS RELEASE

28 October 2013
Government broke it, Government should fix it.

While the government are dithering around trying to amend the RMA, and writing more reports on the housing crisis, Conservative Party Leader Colin Craig says they could start to fix the problem tomorrow.

“It’s actually much simpler than many people make out,” Mr Craig says. “There’s not enough land for sale, and it’s become far too complex to build.”

“The government, through zoning and regulation, have created a shortage of land and housing. When the government creates a problem, they should fix it.”

“In addition to the rules that have hampered new development, the government (as Auckland’s largest land owner), has failed to set an example for others to follow.”

“If the government wants others to better utilise land it should start by looking at its own holdings."

“While the review of the RMA keeps a lot of bureaucrats and lawyers busy, it’s not giving us an immediate solution. A simple amendment to exempt residential housing and improvements from the RMA gets us there without delay.”

“The other big problem is zoning that has created an artificial restraint on the use of land. The urban limit and restrictive zoning has resulted in a virtual land monopoly at the city fringes. Those who have land banked large amounts of the limited residential land available, need to be given notice to use it for its intended purpose.”

“Zoning should also be relaxed along major arterial transport routes, increasing the land available for residential housing.”

“In the mid 1970’s before the RMA and tight zoning controls New Zealand was building nearly 35,000 new homes a year, compared to the 19,000 we build now. That was with a smaller economy and less demand from population growth, so it’s obvious it can be done."

“The Conservative Party is committed to taking real action on the housing crisis. We are not prepared to sit idly by while first home buyers get priced out of the market."

ENDS

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