Housing unaffortability & the consequences of the Left’s ongoing alignment with the establishment – and developer friendly deregulation policies

How do we solve the housing crisis and the problem of housing unaffordability 

The housing crisis, and the persistant failure by the political class to solve it, is in many ways the consequences of the contemporary Left’s ongoing sell-out to the power establishment and its unquestioning adoption of the neoliberal agenda. Essentially by assuming that deregulation of planning rules and ramping up the supply side of potential dwellings will make housing more affordable.

The reason that housing in Auckland is so unaffordable, especially for young working people as my previous article points out is demonstrably NOT a lack of zoned land – but due to factors that our society, especially the Woke Left, represented by City Vision, is presently in complete denial about. These include:

1.      Low average wages (25% lower than in the early 1980s).

2.      Land-banking by land developers and speculators.

3.      The cost of building materials which due to monopolistic practice means the costs of building per square metre in Auckland are some of the highest in the world.

4.      The Government’s failure to build state (Kainga Ora) houses.

5.      The removal of the once standard financial assistance to first home buyers such as state-backed low interest mortgages and the ability of young families to cash in family benefits.

I believe improved housing affordability and a reduction in the costs of associated civic and transport infrastructure could be achieved by the following policies:

1.      Taxing undeveloped/land-banked residentially zoned land. There is 5.6 hectares of zone land just in Mt Eden & Kingsland right now – sufficient for 500 to 1000 intensified dwellings

2.      Increasing the availability of building materials and breaking the long-standing monopoly stranglehold on these.

3.      Building state houses on the zoned undeveloped land across Auckland (and New Zealand) that Kaianga Ora is presently sitting on.

4.      Diverting more of the accommodation supplement away from subsidising rents (and therefore private landlords) to provide long-term, low interest loans to first home buyers.

5.     House the street homeless. Many of the destitute homeless have serious physical and mental health issues – they therefore not only need a home but essential specialised wrap-around medical care. The present wilful neglect of these people left to sleep on our streets through the coldest of winters is an indictment of our current political system.

6. Finally. Re-establishing a contemporary version of the Ministry of Works, employing the best technical and commercial minds to review and reform presently wasteful and incompetent council and central government procurement regimes to ensure rigorous value for money and timely completion of infrastructure projects.

Most of the above were once standard policies, many of which were pioneered in this country. These gave post-war New Zealand one of the highest standards of living in the world. To achieve them would mean our politicians breaking with the 30-year neo-liberal consensus which currently has them in a stranglehold. A new approach is desperately needed to turn around a country in decline. Affordable housing is absolutely fundamental to this.

Mike Lee