New Zealand’s building & construction minister has been criticised for lacking detailed information on Auckland’s Special Housing Areas
.jpg)
New Zealand’s building & construction minister has been criticised for lacking detailed information on Auckland’s Special Housing Areas.
Tuesday’s appearance on Radio New Zealand’s Morning Report by Nick Smith has been slated by the Green Party which says he should know whether his affordable housing scheme is working or not.
When asked how we don’t know how many homes have been sold in Auckland’s Special Housing Areas, the minister talked about increasing supply and said it was a success.
Presenter Guyon Espiner challenged the minister that the Housing Accord had aimed to boost affordability for first home buyers with 10% of homes built in the SHAs required to be affordable; but there were no figures showing how many affordable homes had been sold.
Mr Smith said that “affordability is very much in the eye of the beholder” and highlighted that housing consents have increased and are projected to continue rising with the extra supply boosted by the SHAs.
The measurement of the number of homes had been included at the request of the council but had been superseded by the Unitary Plan.
He went on to say that he is not satisfied with the levels of affordability in Auckland but that it is heading in the right direction due to market conditions.
"It boggles the mind that Building and Construction Minister Nick Smith does not know how many affordable homes were being built in Auckland’s Special Housing Areas," said Green Party Co-Leader Metiria Turei.
She added that "SHAs were his big, bright idea - how can he claim to not know how successful, or not, they’ve been?”
Tuesday’s appearance on Radio New Zealand’s Morning Report by Nick Smith has been slated by the Green Party which says he should know whether his affordable housing scheme is working or not.
When asked how we don’t know how many homes have been sold in Auckland’s Special Housing Areas, the minister talked about increasing supply and said it was a success.
Presenter Guyon Espiner challenged the minister that the Housing Accord had aimed to boost affordability for first home buyers with 10% of homes built in the SHAs required to be affordable; but there were no figures showing how many affordable homes had been sold.
Mr Smith said that “affordability is very much in the eye of the beholder” and highlighted that housing consents have increased and are projected to continue rising with the extra supply boosted by the SHAs.
The measurement of the number of homes had been included at the request of the council but had been superseded by the Unitary Plan.
He went on to say that he is not satisfied with the levels of affordability in Auckland but that it is heading in the right direction due to market conditions.
"It boggles the mind that Building and Construction Minister Nick Smith does not know how many affordable homes were being built in Auckland’s Special Housing Areas," said Green Party Co-Leader Metiria Turei.
She added that "SHAs were his big, bright idea - how can he claim to not know how successful, or not, they’ve been?”
