National doesn’t know what it’s doing on foreign buyers
National on a foreign buyers register: Smith says no, English says yes, Collins says maybe, Key says – bad Labour!
Social issues
housing
Auckland house prices – the good ol’ days ’05
Home ownership rates have been crashing since the 1990’s. Auckland house prices have been classed as “seriously unaffordable” since 2006 or earlier. The answer is to make sure that houses are no longer considered a financial asset for capital gains.
National’s leadership on home ownership
No need to worry about low levels of home ownership, National is here to lead. They understand the fundamental issues, and they have a plan…
Parnell Ponzi; When are National going to Act on Housing?
National need to act now to end the housing crisis. The market has failed and doing nothing is going to blight the future of Kiwis. The answer is easy. End speculation, build houses. But do National have the guts to do the right thing?
Phil Quin resigns from Labour
Phil Quin: “I cannot, however, belong to an organisation that considers racial profiling fair sport. It really is that simple. I will rejoin once this or any future leader publicly repudiates such tactics.”
NRT: This is wrong
“Auckland’s median house price rising a record 26 per cent to $755,000 over the past year..”. This is what a bubble looks like: when your house “earns” a top-end salary just by existing. And its a perfect example of why we need a capital gains tax.
China Crisis
Good on Labour for saying what needed to be said. Can they, the Greens and NZ First save the next generation of Kiwis from being tenants in our own land?
Includes Bonus Seinfeld reference!
International investment in Auckland housing
Phil Twyford’s recent announcement on Auckland’s housing crisis raises important issues concerning the inflow of overseas capital into our housing market. But should it have depersonalised the argument?
The state of state houses
The data for the trial Warrant of Fitness scheme for state houses from last year was recently (finally!) released. 80% of them need serious work. 22% didn’t have functioning bathroom and toilet doors. What is going on?
Auckland property buyers
The big story this morning is Labour’s analysis of Auckland property purchase data.
A win on rental standards
This is a good example of a policy win from opposition. More please!
Christchurch needs blankets
A Christchurch blanket bank has run out of blankets, in this the “seventh year of the brighter future”…
New Powers to Ministers to screw Iwi
The Social Housing Reform (Transaction Mandate) Bill allows designated Ministers to sell off state houses. Currently Housing New Zealand has no such power. Interestingly however this Government could introduce a Bill with criteria to enable sales to be signed off by the CE of Housing New Zealand but instead they are seeking that power for themselves. But within it there is a fishhook for iwi. UPDATE: comment from Turei and response from Bennett
Will New Zealand social housing soon subsidise Australian social housing?
John Key’s interview on Morning Report this morning suggests that National does not know what it is doing with its social housing policy. Are we approaching a situation where profits from New Zealand social housing is going to underwrite the cost of Australian social housing?
Selling state houses to Australia
English needs to explain why the government can’t find NZ buyers for their “social housing” plans. The Nats to explain how selling state houses helps a single family in need.
Dickensian
Step 1: Make welfare assistance almost impossible to obtain. Step 2: Dismiss the concerns of the poor by telling them they should ask for more help. Done!
If you thought the Auckland property bubble was bad now…
… then prepare for it to get a lot worse.
NRT: Disgraceful
I/S at No Right Turn: “Since coming to power in 2008, the National government has sold more than a thousand state houses and tightened access to the remainder considerably. The net result? People not getting the assistance they need…”
The death of trickle down economics and the mess we’re in
Trickle down economics is pronounced dead by the IMF. Housing, the working poor and the economy – the policy settings are wrong everywhere.
Culprit for Nats’ housing fiasco located
You’ll never guess!
The Government’s Auckland Housing policy fiasco grows
The Herald has reported that, contrary to John Key’s assurances that the Government did not have to do so, one of the pieces of land set aside for the Government’s affordable housing partnership with private developers has already been offered to iwi under right of first refusal.
Ghost houses and the invisible hand
Auckland has an urgent deficit of 20,000 to 30,000 houses. Meanwhile 22,000 houses are sitting empty. Behold the efficiency of the market!
Smith embarrassed as Iwi propose legal proceedings over Auckland housing
Ngati Whatua and Waikato-Tainui have announced that they will seek a declaration from the High Court on their rights to participate in the constructing of social housing on Crown land in Auckland. Their proposal that the Crown joins with them in making a joint application is a good one. Surely Nick Smith will agree to this.
Affordable – in your dreams
Even under the best assumptions National’s “affordable” houses in Auckland are not actually affordable for the average paid worker. Nick Smith is dreaming.
Costly government
This is the true irony of National governments. Their entire platform is one of “fiscal responsibility” and “good economic management” yet time and time again they spend money the way I did when I was a teenager: false economies and short-term wish fulfilment.
The Responsibilities of Government
The death of Emma-Lita Bourne is not just a personal tragedy for the family: it is an event that should make New Zealand angry with the powerful people in our society who control the purse strings. They are responsible for condemning thousands of children to life-threatening conditions. And they are doing it in our name!
Heartless government
A few stories of recent weeks which show exactly what kind of government we have.
Housing Bubble
There is always a need for rental properties and the idea that there is not enough supply again comes from the inability for people to purchase housing themselves. This swells the demand above and beyond. So should the Government try to stop people becoming landlords? Of course not. But to raise the standard of living that a landlord must provide will slow demand and give better housing
Nick Smith strikes out on housing land
Nick Smith on housing then and now
In 2013 Nick Smith promised an effective housing WOF. Yesterday he said “People dying in winter of pneumonia and other illnesses is not new.” Has National ever kept a constructive sounding social policy promise?
OECD sounding the alarm
Freeing up Auckland land for private development and sale at market rates isn’t going to cut it.
Another death linked to cold state house
This should not be happening in New Zealand.
NRT: Half-measures on housing quality
I/S at No Right Turn: “Any improvement is better than what we’ve got now .. At the same time, we should recognise that this is pathetically weak.”
Murdoch on state houses then and now
Government buys a fight with iwi
The Nats seem determined to buy a fight with iwi over Auckland land, practically challenging them to court action. Do they really think this is going to end well for them?
Death by damp house
