Minister for Housing and Infrastructure, Chris Bishop has told his Cabinet colleagues to expect a plan to fix the housing crisis to be delivered in the first quarter of this year. Economists and housing advocates have been highly critical of the Panel for rejecting evidence that land supply is the key driver of housing costs. In his speech, Bishop said he would be in charge of any decisions related to housing where councils and Independent Hearings Panels do not agree. “The idea that zoning and land supply does not affect housing affordability is frankly nuts,” he said, in a different section of the speech. “The evidence is as plain as day: cities that make it difficult to build more housing have housing affordability problems.

Source: New Zealand Herald February 26, 2024 22:07 UTC