Phil Twyford
MP for Te Atatū

Housing Spokesperson

MEDIA STATEMENT

12 April 2016

Documents prove Crown land sell-off a fiasco

New documents obtained by Labour prove Nick Smith lied when he denied the Government had identified land occupied by substations and cemeteries as Crown land to be sold off for housing, Labour’s Housing spokesperson Phil Twyford says.

“The list used by the Housing Minister to back up National’s centrepiece policy for Budget 2015 has been released to Labour under the Official Information Act.

“It shows that despite Nick Smith’s protestations at the time, the Mangere Lawn Cemetery and Crematorium, six substations including the exploding Hepburn Road site and even Auckland’s Government House were all eyed by officials for sell-off. Also on this list is Elim Christian College Junior Campus and 20 sites which are either current or future schools.

“And of these hundreds of sites, 133 are too small – 100 square metre or less – to even build a house on.

“It is obvious that Nick Smith failed to do his homework.

“This was a rushed policy which was scrambled together in the last minutes before Budget Day to appear as if National was doing something to address the housing crisis.

“This fiasco just keeps growing after Nick Smith revealed today that the Government has only identified 25 hectares of Crown land that can be developed a year after he and the Prime Minister promised 500 hectares in their major Budget announcement,” Phil Twyford says.

Attached: Crown Land List OIA April 2016

http://img.scoop.co.nz/media/pdfs/1604/Crown_Land_List_OIA_April_2016.pdf

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