Housing Minister Chris Bishop says there is a “pragmatic and sensible” solution to housing intensification plans for Auckland as the government considers watering down controversial planning rules that would allow for two million homes to be built over the coming decades.
Bishop says “some tweaks and finessing” of the super city target were underway with a decision expected in the “next month or so”.
Earlier this month, political columnist Matthew Hooton revealed in a column for the Herald that the government was planning to U-turn on changes it had made to Auckland densification rules (called Plan Change 120) which would allow for the two million potential homes to be developed with greater density and building heights in some inner-city suburbs.
It was a sensitive issue that could spook potentially blue voters who do not want “apartment blocks to be built on either side of their homes, without even the infrastructure investment to support them”.
Hooton said any U-turn would be a win for National “since it denies ACT, New Zealand First and Labour a potent issue on which to raid the blue vote”.
NZ Herald
Face of the Day
Hooton revealed the government was planning to U-turn on changes it had made to Auckland densification rules that would allow for two million potential homes to be developed with greater density and building heights in some inner-city suburbs.
Related
Face of the Day
Jones told reporters at parliament today his comment was a “colourful expression” and was dismayed by how it had been interpreted.
Face of the Day
A scarcely believable approach shot on the 18th, a hole that had been breaking dreams rather than making them all week, put the ball just three and a half metres from the pin.
Face of the Day
Roared on by a sell-out crowd of 60,000 at London Stadium, the five-time global medallist bet the record, untouched since 1999.
Latest
FBI Strikes Massive Blow
Three million pedophile accounts crushed as 3,400 predators arrested and 7,200 children rescued.
Where Is the Mandate for Burnham?
In all the excitement, the government forgot to ask the people.
JAMA’s Study Still Doesn’t Tell the Whole Story
Twenty years ago, a landmark JAMA study changed the way antidepressants were prescribed during pregnancy. Today, readers still aren't seeing the complete scientific record.
Trial Opens for Mother of Three
A shocking crime inside a seemingly ordinary American family has raised questions about mental illness and criminal responsibility.