Government fails to build houses – and who’s surprised?
Press release: ACT New Zealand
July 5, 2016. 10:40am
Government home-building projects are running up against the same problems as private developments, says ACT Leader
David Seymour.
“Housing New Zealand’s failure to build 2000 houses is no surprise. The entire housing shortage is caused by barriers to
development. The idea that the Government could simply ignore these barriers and build houses itself was always
ridiculous.
“Ultimately, the fault doesn’t lie with Housing New Zealand, though their goals were naive. Central Government has
failed to reform the RMA and remove the 156 references to ‘inappropriate subdivision’. Now Bill English’s office is
complaining about the same consenting issues private developers have dealt with for years.
“The biggest irony is Labour’s opportunistic criticism. The backbone of their housing policy is a state home-building
project. Housing New Zealand’s struggles show the folly of faith in state building policies.”
ENDS