News that National’s Auckland Housing Accord is likely to miss its target for the number of homes actually built shows that new ideas under a new Government are needed to fix the housing crisis, the Green Party said today. The Housing Accord’s three-year target of 39,000 new homes and sections is reportedly likely to fall short by around 1,000, with just 7,000 actual new builds in the last year, according to Radio New Zealand. “The Housing Accord was National’s flagship...

The Government’s Auckland housing plans lack substance and are years behind where they should be, the Green Party said today. Bill English has said he has no information about how much land he plans to sell off as part of planned redevelopments, and can’t say how many new houses will be sold at affordable prices, in answers to written parliamentary questions from the Green Party. “The Minister responsible for Housing NZ has no idea how much land he’s going to...

Reports that Housing New Zealand is about to run out of money, just as it’s supposed to be building new houses to alleviate the housing crisis, is a symptom of National’s economic mismanagement, the Green Party said today. “Bill English has run Housing New Zealand into the ground and now he’s going to have to do an emergency bail-out,” Green Party Co-leader James Shaw said. “Bill English should have used Housing New Zealand to kick-start a Government-building programme back in...

Bill English owes it to prospective first-home buyers to name a price for the houses the Government is proposing to build and sell in Auckland, the Green Party said today. “Aucklanders need to be able to trust the Government to build houses they can afford, but so far National hasn’t delivered on anything they’ve promised,” Green Party Co-leader Metiria Turei said. “If the Government’s plan to fix the housing affordability crisis is to build houses that will sell at market...

 

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The National Government rushed to change the law governing Special Housing Areas (SHAs) in just six weeks, the Green Party said today. Responding to an Official Information Act request, Building and Housing Minister Nick Smith said that on 28 June 2016 he had received no information or advice to date about the expiry of the Auckland Housing Accord, extending the Accord, or new initiatives to replace the Accord. SHAs in Auckland have been created through the Auckland Housing Accord. Smith...

The Green Party will oppose Housing Minister Nick Smith’s latest hurried and inadequate attempt to fix the housing crisis, which is being pushed through Parliament under urgency today. “This Bill is a band-aid for a broken housing market and won’t do anything to fix the underlying problem that the market is not building enough affordable houses,” Green Party Co-leader Metiria Turei said. “The Government always knew the Special Housing Areas (SHAs) were going to expire, so there’s no good reason...

Auckland’s average house price hit one million dollars today, as National tried to put a band-aid on the housing crisis with rushed new legislation to stop Special Housing Areas falling apart, the Green Party said. “Aucklanders wanting to buy their first home now have one million reasons to change the Government,” Green Party Co-leader Metiria Turei said. “National has shown time and time again that they’re focussed on helping their property speculator mates, not helping first home buyers. “John Key’s...

Action is needed to rebalance the housing market in favour of families who need somewhere to live, the Green Party said today. New data from Core Logic shows that property investors who already own multiple properties are buying the largest share of homes in Auckland. “We need action to rebalance the housing market so that it’s serving people who need somewhere to live, not speculators looking to cash in on the housing crisis,” said Green Party Co-leader Metiria Turei. “The...