MEDIA RELEASE

Anti-housing rules another regulatory tax to keep Kiwis locked out

14 AUGUST 2019
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Government’s plans to prohibit housing on ‘productive’ farmland will serve as yet another regulatory tax on housing, and is a shameful breach of Jacinda Ardern’s promise to fix housing supply, says the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union.

“Maddeningly, Government is now introducing even more restrictions on housing, ensuring prices will continue to rise, all for the sake of a small gang of potato-growers who want to keep urban farmland prices artificially low. This is a slap in the face for aspiring homeowners, and makes a joke of the Government’s claimed concern over housing affordability.”

“There is no need for the Government to intervene here, because the market already works to allocate land to its most productive use. If the land is more productive as farmland then farmers will outbid housing developers, and vice versa.”

“The single biggest area for growth in housing is between Auckland and Hamilton. You literally could not design a dumber policy to prevent those houses being built.”

ENDS

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