The Housing Minister’s lack of answers about how the Government will allocate housing infrastructure funding shows why Labour needs to support National’s plan, National’s Infrastructure spokesperson Andrew Bayly says.

“The National Party introduced a policy to deal with the housing supply shortage. Our plan is comprehensive, easily applicable, and is a key step to addressing the housing crisis.

“This policy is simple for councils to understand and it will be straightforward for councils to access investment for infrastructure. For every dwelling that a council sees built over and above their 5 year average, they will receive $50,000. This applies equally to houses and dwellings within apartment buildings; we just want to see homes built. This will make infrastructure for new builds easier to finance in a proportionate manner with versatility to build up or out.

“In stark comparison is the Government’s plan proposed to achieve the same goal. It is needlessly confusing, with very little detail given. Who is going to manage this fund? What are the criteria to receive funding? How will councils apply for the funding? How long is the fund going to be active for?

“I asked the Minister for Housing these questions in Parliament, to clarify how their infrastructure plan will work.

“In response, the Minister made it clear that they don’t know what will be allocated in the next 12 months, which agency will overlook the fund, or what criteria are needed to be given grants.

“How are we to expect councils to effectively engage with the Government’s infrastructure plan when it doesn’t know how it will work?

“The National Party policy will be able to start immediately upon passage, incentivising houses right away.”

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