Auckland has no choice but to face its infrastructure woes

Auckland has no choice but to face its infrastructure woes

Property Council supports the Prime Minister’s views on Auckland’s housing and infrastructure aired at a Property Council event this morning.

Greater coordination is needed between the Government and Auckland Council to find infrastructure solutions affecting the Special Housing Areas (SHAs).

Prime Minister John Key spoke at a Property Council Political Breakfast this morning, where he said the Government was trying to work constructively with Auckland Council on housing and infrastructure issues.

“The question is whether Auckland Council feels the same level of pressure that Central Government feels.”

Property Council chief executive Connal Townsend said it was relieving to hear the Prime Minister voice the same concerns as Property Council on the need to speed up resource consenting processes to address the housing supply shortage.

“The Government has confirmed it won’t change sections 6 and 7 of the Resource Management Act, but it is essentially dealing with housing outside of the RMA by creating housing accords and SHAs. I was particularly pleased to hear the Prime Minister talk about the importance of national direction and national policy statements on the RMA, because a huge part of the process relies on how local authorities interpret the legislation.”

Mr Townsend said Auckland’s infrastructure shortage was a critical part of ensuring SHAs are successful.

“We need to integrate property development with infrastructure development, and the two need to be sequenced together to work effectively for optimal outcomes.”

Mr Key said Auckland’s infrastructure issues must inevitably be addressed due to the visible lag. He said the Government’s analysis shows that Auckland Council’s numbers fall short of their own budget allocations even with the increased rates and proposed transport levy.

“They have allocated $2.4 billion to expenditure on roading and public transport initiatives over the last three years. Even with the proposed levy on top of the rates, they will only be at $1.9 billion.” Mr Key said with Auckland’s growth rate, the Council cannot afford to spend less.

“The Council needs to build its portion of local roads to free up property development so people can have houses.”

He also emphasised the Government’s role in funding key infrastructure.

“The City Rail Link has to happen which will be expensive and the Government will be in for a few billion dollars but the reality of it is we need efficiency so we need to do it.”

ENDS

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