Labour wants Nats on side with housing

Labour is attempting to pull National back on side over housing, after the Opposition abandoned most of its support around a bipartisan deal on housing intensification.

Despite a letter from the Housing Minister asking National to come back to the table sent late on Saturday, National announced yesterday morning its housing package to force councils in major towns and cities to zone for 30 years’ worth of growth immediately, while giving councils the ability to opt-out of the Medium Density Residential Zone law.

National housing spokesperson Chris Bishop said if National was in government, it would still support allowing for density and transport corridors and also promised to introduce a $1 billion fund for councils to incentivise councils to build new housing.

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said the Government’s position was that it was better to have a bipartisan approach to housing. ‘‘National, if they want to walk away from that, then we want to talk to them.’’

He was open to having conversations about finding middle ground with National on the policy.

In response, Bishop said National had laid out their policy on what they believe was needed to fix housing in New Zealand. ‘‘If Labour wish to adopt all or any of our changes, we welcome that.’’

Housing Minister Megan Woods wrote to National leader Christopher Luxon, deputy Nicola Willis, Bishop and their chief of staff Cameron Burrows late on Saturday afternoon, outlining that Labour was willing to come back to the table on housing as it was in New Zealand’s best interest.

‘‘I am writing to extend an offer to work together again and continue to ensure certainty and stability in housing policy,’’ she said.

Woods said that many of the measures in the housing legislation were in there ‘‘because your former housing spokesperson Nicola Willis successfully advocated for them’’.

‘‘This legislation is Labour’s alone, it is Labour’s and National’s.’’

She said the purpose of the bipartisan approach was to provide people with certainty.

‘‘Your change in position removes that certainty, so I am keen to explore if that can be regained.’’

She said Labour was open to tweaks to the new medium density settings.

‘‘In the spirit that the original changes were made, let’s see what we can achieve together.’’

National did not inform Labour it would be moving away from the housing agreement.

Bishop said on Q+A ‘‘any degree of bipartisanship from

not both

Megan Woods certainly went out the window straightaway,’’ referring to National not being informed about giving Auckland Council a one-year extension and using a Crown observer in Christchurch.

‘‘We have our own policy,’’ Bishop said. ‘‘The National Party has its own agenda for government. We’re putting our own policies on the table and if we are elected, we will consider ourselves to have a mandate to implement them, and we will do so.’’

Hipkins said housing developers wanted certainty.

‘‘We worked really hard to work with National to take some of the politics out of it so that we could get more houses being built faster because that’s what we need as a country. Nicola Willis helped to write this law. If Nicola Willis can’t trust Christopher Luxon to stand by commitments the National Party made, why should any New Zealander?’’

Pushed on whether Labour would stick with the three-three housing rule, Hipkins said if there were concerns from National, ‘‘we’re happy to talk to them about it’’.

He said Labour would be clear with New Zealanders if they would consider proposing any changes to the law before the election.

‘‘We haven’t had a chance to fully digest what the National Party’s latest position, on the law that they helped to write, is.’’

In 2021, Willis, Housing Minister Megan Woods, and then National leader Judith Collins held a joint news conference to announce a united approach to support housing intensification.

The parties unveiled a bill which would streamline the process for developers wanting to build medium density housing in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington and Christchurch. That bill passed into law, with the support of every party except ACT.

The new rules made it harder for councils to object to developers building higher density housing, by removing their ability to set height limits of less than 11 metres. This meant threestorey homes could be built in city suburbs.

The new regulations were designed to increase housing supply. Some councils and existing homeowners criticised the law over concerns it would ruin suburban character or block out the sun and existing views.

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