Twyford launches new Ministry of Housing and Urban Development

Property

Housing Minister Phil Twyford says Ministry of Housing and Urban Development will help drive KiwiBuild and will be operational by the end of the year

8th Jun 18, 9:51am by Jason Walls

The Government is setting up a new housing focused ministry, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, in a bid to help make houses more affordable and cities “more liveable.”

Housing Minister Phil Twyford says the new ministry will provide “focus and capacity” to help the Government deliver its housing policies.

The Ministry will be the Government’s lead advisor on housing and urban development and will provide advice on various housing issues, such as responding to homelessness and supporting first home buyers.

It will also advise on the Government’s KiwiBuild scheme.

At first, the Ministry, which will be established from August 1 and will start operating in October, will source its funding from the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment, the Ministry of Social Development and the Treasury.

Speaking to RNZ, Twyford said the creation of this ministry is “one small part of a really big reform agenda.”

“The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development will help us deliver our bold and ambitious plan to build much-needed affordable housing and create modern and liveable cities ready for the future,” Twyford says.

He says the previous Government had three different housing ministers and New Zealand ended up with the worst housing crisis “in living memory.”

Both the Taxpayers’ Union and the Act Party have already slammed the new ministry.

“Conspicuously absent from Phil Twyford’s housing agenda is any move to reform our planning rules to make it easier for the private sector to build houses,” Act Leader David Seymour says.

Taxpayers’ Union executive director Jordan Williams says when it comes to housing, the Government is the problem, not the solution.

“Phil Twyford should focus on opening up land supply and reforming the Resource Management Act to make it easier for the private market to build new homes.

He says according to forecasts from Treasury and MBIE, KiwiBuild is expected to hollow out private sector construction.

“Why would the Minister double down on even more government intervention?”

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36 Comments

by Boatman | 8th Jun 18, 10:17am 1528409874

When all else fails , try rebranding

by Foxglove. | 8th Jun 18, 10:44am 1528411450

How the heck do you reverse decades of local council and regional council extortion over revenue from consents and suchlike? Trying to reduce that income stream is like expecting any Labour government to relax taxation. And then how do you speed up the process for those requisites when the surrounding bureaucracy is increasing as more and more executive and staff need to justify their salary and position. And finally how do you even begin to reduce the cost of building materials. Guess that might be a reason for Bob Jones building a wooden high rise office block, assuming the timber is going to be sourced locally.

by NoFax | 8th Jun 18, 10:18am 1528409884

I actually support the new ministry and, hopefully, they do recommend to remove building restrictions in urban areas.

The one criticism I have is that this should have come first before the Kiwibuild programme.

by Grendel | 8th Jun 18, 11:22am 1528413730

Your "one" criticism? Really?

You don't think waiting 9 month before deciding to talk about how to fix it might qualify as at least a second criticism?

by NoFax | 8th Jun 18, 12:57pm 1528419463

I do tend to understand things. It is actually a big admission from the Government that they did not have everything in place as they should have.

by kane02 | 8th Jun 18, 10:20am 1528410059

when all else fails, move the problem to another department

by THE MAN 2 | 8th Jun 18, 11:03am 1528412592

What KiwiBuild program?
Let’s set up another ministry PHIL, so they can make decisions, because all of yours are just not working!
What a bunch of incompetents!

by dictator | 8th Jun 18, 11:12am 1528413128

This better not end up being CERA II. If he wants to establish confidence it will be based on having capable people in the Ministry.

by unaha-closp | 8th Jun 18, 11:29am 1528414161

Housing Minister Phil Twyford says the new ministry will provide “focus and capacity” to help the Government deliver its housing policies.

It would be nice if someone could deliver the housing policies this government promised to deliver before they got elected. Way too much to ask that the Minister of Housing Phil Twyford deliver on the promises made by the then opposition spokesperson Phil Twyford.

I guess waiting till 2019 to hear a formalised excuse of non-implementation will be so much better.

by Chairman Moa | 8th Jun 18, 11:33am 1528414385

One of the major factors that contributed to NZ's un-affordable homes issues is BRANZ

by Houses Overpriced | 8th Jun 18, 11:35am 1528414541

Hahaha love it. . All the specuvultures out in force. ..

When house prices were rocketing up under the national government they were salivating

by Grendel | 8th Jun 18, 12:33pm 1528418004

Wait what?? So..... you're happy about this?!?

These people who said they knew what to do and would do something if we voted for them, now almost a year later, are saying that they need to assemble a team who would know what to do so we might be able to do something next year probably?

Whose side are you on???

by Houses Overpriced | 8th Jun 18, 12:40pm 1528418426

Hold on, where have you been? ??
PT has said right from the beginning that a MoHnD would be created. . Nothing new with the announcement

by Grendel | 8th Jun 18, 4:12pm 1528431144

That's what I'm saying. There is 'Nothing' new here.

They came into power last year and they are only now starting to think about how they can fix the housing problem?

by Foxglove. | 8th Jun 18, 1:28pm 1528421335

A base principle of the law of supply and demand - low supply and high demand increase the price and vice versa. On top of that the law of demand - the higher a price is the less likely people will want to buy. Or to add to that, the less ability they have to buy. With respect no committee is going to find a silver bullet to shoot that down unless there are radical measures introduced to increase the availability, and simultaneously reduce the cost of that availability. As we have agreed before and just as Sydney finally realised, Lane Cove like developments, maximising use of land by going up, access to rail and motorway, like it or not, are the only hope.

by Houses Overpriced | 8th Jun 18, 11:52am 1528415532

B and Ts - 2 out of 8

by Uninterested | 8th Jun 18, 5:06pm 1528434364

And the Ak council continues to resist housing development.
Sorry earlier link was an old one.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/north-shore-times/104507766…

by Houses Overpriced | 8th Jun 18, 12:41pm 1528418493

Duh. It's the Environmental court, not council

by Kate | 8th Jun 18, 1:01pm 1528419710

Yes, the Environment Court;

https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/359074/court-rejects-okura-estu…

The evidence was clear, they (Todd) have been unable to satisfactorily mitigate the adverse/negative effects of an existing development on the estuary and marine reserve habitat;

http://okurabush.org.nz/2017/09/media-release-our-inconvenient-truth/

and luckily, no amount of money they spent on trying to convince the EC that it would be different next time was able to gloss over the very simple realities.

In some places it is morally appropriate to choose environmental protection/preservation over human prosperity/progress - this was one of those places, in my opinion.

by Houses Overpriced | 8th Jun 18, 2:19pm 1528424366

Agreed

by unaha-closp | 8th Jun 18, 4:03pm 1528430581

Okura Holdings, a subsidiary of the Todd Property Group, was appealing Auckland Council's decision not to rezone the land to allow the development on the edge of the Okura Estuary. It was declined.

No, it was the Council policy in contention and the venue was the Environment Court. Auckland Council has a policy not to allow building closer towards the city than Orewa exurbs, but the developer wanted to build housing closer to Auckland.

To build there closer to Auckland the developer needed to make the land subject to the less strict environmental standards applied to land inside the RUL and the council refused.

by Nzdan | 8th Jun 18, 12:43pm 1528418606

An article from 2016. Hardly relevant.

by Uninterested | 8th Jun 18, 12:41pm 1528418467

Of course there does need to be some authority looking after the govts' "investment" in Kiwibuild. But the scope of this dept seems to me to infringe upon other govt departments mandate eg social welfare. Which is expensive (labour costs) and which will cause duplication and confusion.

by Eco Bird | 8th Jun 18, 12:54pm 1528419293

Another dose of morphine ... kick the ball a bit further, dilute the issue a bit more, spread responsibilities thinner, this circus is becoming ridiculously boring .... KB cost will just go up by $$$$s pa to pay for the new ministry existence and costs ( AKA consultancy) .

What else would we expect when important portfolios are run by career PR spinners and ex-activists ?

Few committees here and new ministry there and the heritage will be spent and gone before dinner time .. ... now consultancy level is raised to become new ministries.!!!!! God save NZ.

" the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, in a bid to help make houses more affordable and cities “more liveable.” ... More livable? he either has a PR team working round the clock to come up with all these fancy statements or poor PT spends the night crafting new buzz words ... afterall he is good at that ! ... How are they going to make houses affordable.. ?? are they still thinking and designing, or need dedication to do that? ... I am sure this sits very well with increasing Productivity !

This CoLs will do nothing at all, houses will become affordable in 2020 when most FHBs or their families get 6,7,8,9,10% pa increase in wages ( A mission that all trade unions are working on a Gov with its arms and balls twisted behind their backs )

This is nothing more than a load of rubbish and PR talk to raise sheeples' spirits and hopes ... and to cap it all up blame the last Gov and its ministers ( and ministry) for failing to see the "light" which only Saint PT "the illuminator" can apparently see !! ( after tons of expensive advice)

Hobsonville point development company is running ADs on the radio to grabe Units from $500k in the modern new "Very Livable " Hobsonville village on the beautiful Northshore ... so where are the FHBs ...? What is keeping PT from buying these and selling them to FHBs as KB on easy terms?....or is it all BS as usual?

by Brock Landers | 8th Jun 18, 5:22pm 1528435326

Oh yeah? What do you get for a cool half million?

Ahh found it. $525k for a one bedroom 46 sq meter 4th floor apartment with one carpark 90 mins down the motorway from the city in the morning commute. You're right, I don't know why those cashed up FHB arent jumping at the chance.

by Eco Bird | 8th Jun 18, 1:00pm 1528419606

Environment Court rejects Todd Property's $1.4b 1000-house project at Okura
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12…

by Bobster | 8th Jun 18, 1:08pm 1528420105

So what? What’s your point?

by Uninterested | 8th Jun 18, 7:29pm 1528442969

Can you guess?

by MiniCat | 8th Jun 18, 2:41pm 1528425680

Kiwi Build .... the new word for Housing Corp .... the tennants they house will still be the same .... only this time drugs users, alcoholics, abusers, etc will not get evicted. Nor will they inform the police. But they will get offered help. Hahahaha ... what a joke.... No one wants them in there neighborhood. Epsom is having a fit.

by dictator | 8th Jun 18, 2:44pm 1528425888

Epsom needs a more balanced community because look at how many of them vote for ACT. Drug dealers should be moved into Epsom as that would boost the local economy and would fit with the liberal ideals of the residents (who needs laws to tell you how to lead your life).

by waymad | 8th Jun 18, 4:14pm 1528431296

HUD will need new premises, new signage, a new logo, a snappy motto (suggestions welcome from common taters, let yer imaginations Roam), the motto in Te Reo, Samoan, Tongan and Niuean, a CEO, CFO, CIO, a Chief Diversity Officer, an appointed Board (plenty of junkets and tofu GF sandwiches for the usual cronies), a suitably representative receptionist, and of course a fleet of EV's to go check on which people-mover the Customers are sleeping in tonight (the MSD angle). Plus an ERP to track expenses, an HR system to track Employees, a permanent Union rep to ensure that unlike HRC it keeps its Nose Clean, and admin staff to make it all work (C-level exec's don't Work, they Strategise and Consult.)

Whoops! There's the $8m gone already, and that's before the planning for the venue for the first Board meeting to decide on the terms of reference for the meeting which will review the candidates for.....

Still, look on the bright side. Plenty of jobs, plenty of external consultants, and the all-important Appearance of Doing Sumpin'.

by Property Leader | 8th Jun 18, 4:19pm 1528431574

I wonder which department will be responsible for the tenancy tribunal / RTA.
The meth panic was related to successful tenant applications in tribunal.
The Osaki case also came out of the RTA. The Osaki case is letting tenants use the lounge carpet as a dog toilet.
Politicians have to be careful not to push the courts around but to cure half of the problems someone needs to bring them into line.

by moneyphobe | 8th Jun 18, 5:48pm 1528436928

Went to the Auction today and it was an eye opener.

Auctioneer offer of 700 got no bids, sold for 690 in 2016 and has a CV of 820
https://www.trademe.co.nz/property/insights/address/Auckland/Glen-Eden/…

Probably worth 550 by next year.

by THE MAN 2 | 8th Jun 18, 6:27pm 1528439246

127 Glengarry Road I see is on the market now for 795k which seems like a helluva lot compared to houses that I buy for half that and are far better properties.
However the fact that it didn’t get a bid doesn’t mean that it isn’t worth say 800k, it just means that there were no bidders with cash prepared to pay for it on the day.
Sold for 690k in 2016 and if it sold for say 790k now it is still a good profit for someone.
Thing is that even at 700k the rental return isn’t good enough now with this COL bringing in new changing designed to stuff landlords.
The professional landlords with a good portfolio already are only going to become more financial as they pick up some good buys, especially in Christchurch.

by Double-GZ | 8th Jun 18, 6:40pm 1528440014

Another Glengarry Road eyesore plaster disaster hahaha ;-)
https://www.arizto.co.nz/property-search/spacious-home-with-pool

by Andrew Atkin | 9th Jun 18, 2:50pm 1528512616

How about: "The ministry for externalising intellectual responsibility for politically-expedient housing policy, so you can gracefully back-track on prior promised real solutions, so as to continue the National party's protectionist regime to avoid losing home-owner and mortgage-holder votes?"

Have I missed anything?

This is a bad joke, Phil Twyford. You've had nine years to learn about this game and you know what needs to be done. You've said yourself what needs to be done - accurately!

There is no need for some other kind of committee or working group. We just need policy that directly breaks down the artificial cost inflations on land, infrastructure and construction, so the building-boom can (and will) begin.

You need a no-more-mr-nice-guy policy sledgehammer. Not another collection of time-wasting housing and urban development philosophers, spelling out the obvious (at best) that has already been spelled-out too many times before.

Please Phil. Stop playing dumb and just bloody get on with it.