Housing

New Zealand’s housing crisis response has led to record construction levels and collaborative reforms between parties. However, local government incentives remain a challenge for sustaining housing affordability improvements.

New Zealand is successfully tackling its housing crisis with urban development reforms. Australian leaders can learn from this model to increase housing supply and affordability.

The housing minister’s plan to address the housing crisis includes increasing land availability, incentivising councils, and setting a target for affordable housing.

Sometimes, when the Legislature is in session, good policy may indeed be the outcome.

It is always encouraging to see opposition parties come up with good policy thinking. It is even more gratifying for us as a think tank to see many of our ideas entering the political debate.

Between a policy idea and its political take-up, many years can pass. But that makes it even more satisfying when it eventually happens.

These sober findings put debates around New Zealand’s housing crisis into a different perspective. As bad as the housing market situation is today, there is worse to come if we do not unlock the supply side of the housing market now.

We can only hope that the replacement of the RMA will give the government new tools for its housing toolbox.