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Housing and Urban Development

KiwiBuild celebrates four years of failure
July 01, 2022
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Chris Bishop
Today marks the fourth birthday of KiwiBuild, but there’s nothing for the Government to celebrate with just 1,366 homes built out of the 100,000 promised, National’s Housing spokesperson Chris Bishop says.

Emergency housing bill hits $1 billion
June 29, 2022
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Nicola Willis
The Government’s housing failure has clocked up a new milestone: $1 billion has been spent on emergency housing, National’s Acting Housing spokesperson Nicola Willis says.

There is nothing ‘alive and well’ about KiwiBuild
June 02, 2022
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Chris Bishop
Megan Woods’ claim that KiwiBuild is ‘alive and well’ is truly extraordinary, National’s Housing spokesperson Chris Bishop says.

State housing waitlist hits new record
May 31, 2022
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Chris Bishop
Labour has beaten its own record with 27,234 people now on the state housing waitlist according to the latest monthly data release, National’s Housing spokesperson Chris Bishop says

Homeowners paying for Labour’s mismanagement
May 29, 2022
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Chris Bishop
Homeowners are set to take a severe hit due to Labour’s economic mismanagement, with borrowers wearing the cost of the fight to control inflation, National’s Housing Spokesperson Chris Bishop says.

State housing waitlist hits new high
April 28, 2022
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Chris Bishop
Labour has broken its own record for the number of people on the state housing waitlist, with the latest monthly data release showing that 26,868 people are now languishing on the waitlist, National’s Housing Spokesperson Chris Bishop says.

Government too busy to consider 5000 new homes
April 20, 2022
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Chris Bishop
The Government needs to properly explain why it has turned down a proposal to fast-track the building of 5000 new homes in Papakura, says National’s Housing spokesperson Chris Bishop.

Poto Williams all at sea in her portfolios
April 07, 2022
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Chris Bishop,
Mark Mitchell
Just a day after admitting she wasn’t across a major issue in her Police portfolio, Poto Williams has told Parliament she is also not across her Associate Housing portfolio, National’s Housing Spokesperson Chris Bishop and Police Spokesperson Mark Mitchell say.

Labour keeps breaking its own records on rents
March 31, 2022
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Chris Bishop
TradeMe data showing median rents have again hit a new record-high demonstrates Labour’s complete failure on housing, National’s Housing spokesperson Chris Bishop says.

Tweaks not enough to fix flawed lending regulations
March 11, 2022
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Nicola Willis
The Government needs to stop trying to save face and admit it made a mistake with its overly prescriptive, one-size-fits-all credit rules, which are making it harder for would-be home buyers to get a mortgage, National’s Housing spokesperson Nicola Willis and Commerce and Consumer Affairs spokesperson Andrew Bayly say.

Kāinga Ora hasn’t learnt its lesson
March 08, 2022
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Nicola Willis
Housing Minister Megan Woods must explain why her claims of change at Kāinga Ora should be taken seriously when its CE and senior leaders defiantly defended their decision to publish an advertisement about a Labour Party candidate, even after being admonished by the Minister, National’s Housing spokesperson Nicola Willis says.

Woods must act on Kāinga Ora cover up
March 03, 2022
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Nicola Willis
The Housing Minister must act to restore confidence in Kāinga Ora after a Public Service Commission investigation concluded that the agency repeatedly failed to meet the standards expected of a public service agency, National’s Housing spokesperson Nicola Willis says.

National proposes fix to flawed lending regulations
February 10, 2022
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Nicola Willis
National has proposed a draft Bill to undo the adverse impact prescriptive credit regulations are having on mortgage lending, National’s Housing spokesperson Nicola Willis says.

Record rent increase under Labour
February 09, 2022
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Nicola Willis
New data released this week shows that Labour has presided over the single worst yearly increase in rents since records began, National’s Housing spokesperson Nicola Willis says.

Kāinga Ora removes more homes than it builds
February 08, 2022
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Nicola Willis
The Government’s state house developer Kāinga Ora has removed more homes from its stock in the past six months than it built, National’s Housing spokesperson Nicola Willis says.

Kiwis paying the price for failed housing policy
February 03, 2022
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Nicola Willis
Labour’s housing policies have failed and Kiwis are paying the price with soaring housing costs and a new threat of retrograde price controls, National’s Housing spokesperson Nicola Willis says.

Labour destroying the dream of home-ownership
January 25, 2022
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Nicola Willis
It is clear that the Government’s housing package announced last March has failed after figures released by Trade Me today show the largest ever annual increase in house prices, National’s Housing spokesperson Nicola Willis says.

Auditor-General slams MSD on emergency housing
December 14, 2021
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Nicola Willis
The Auditor-General’s inquiry into the Government’s funding of emergency housing reveals a shocking waste of taxpayer funds, and raises serious questions about the financial control being exercised by the big-spending Ministry of Social Development (MSD), National’s Housing spokesperson Nicola Willis says.

Government Eviction Ban Breaks the Law
November 18, 2021
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Nicola Willis
The Government must urgently direct Kāinga Ora to drop its state house eviction ban which breaches its obligations as a landlord and is resulting in the victimisation of innocent neighbours, National’s spokesperson for Housing and Urban Development Nicola Willis says.

Labour bans state house evictions
November 16, 2021
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Nicola Willis
Kāinga Ora has evicted zero tenants in the past three years, according to answers given to me by the Associate Minister for Housing (Public Housing) Poto Williams in Parliament today, says National’s Housing Spokesperson Nicola Willis.

Government must reverse state house eviction ban
November 14, 2021
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Nicola Willis
The Government must harden up its policy for managing abusive, anti-social state house tenants after revelations that an innocent pensioner couple are being forced to move home because Kāinga Ora refuses to evict their abusive neighbour, says National’s Housing spokesperson Nicola Willis.

National welcomes Public Service Commissioner investigation into Kāinga Ora
November 12, 2021
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Nicola Willis
National welcomes the decision by the Public Service Commissioner today to launch an investigation into the concerning matters we uncovered at Kāinga Ora, National’s spokesperson for Housing and Urban Development Nicola Willis says.

Public Service Commissioner must investigate Kāinga Ora
November 11, 2021
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Nicola Willis
The Public Services Commissioner must step in and conduct a probe into an apparent culture of deceit and cover-up at Government housing agency Kāinga Ora, says National’s Housing and Urban Development spokesperson Nicola Willis.

New data reveals state house waiting time explosion
October 31, 2021
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Nicola Willis
The most at-risk New Zealanders are waiting nearly three times longer for a state house, and Labour scrapped the target to house them quicker, National’s Housing spokesperson Nicola Willis says.

New Bill announced to boost Build-to-Rent in NZ
October 26, 2021
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Nicola Willis
National has announced the Boost Build-to-Rent Housing Bill – our plan to unlock investment in purpose built rental housing in New Zealand, National List MP based in Wellington Nicola Willis says.

Housing Bill a step forward, with more to be done
October 19, 2021
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Nicola Willis
The Housing Supply Bill is a win-win that will deliver more choices for future homeowners and renters while enhancing the ‘Right to Build’ for current property owners, says National’s Housing and Urban Development spokesperson Nicola Willis.

Kiwis left in the dark over interest deductibility rules
September 08, 2021
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Andrew Bayly
The new rules relating to mortgage interest deductibility, cunningly renamed the Interest Limitation Rules, are due to come into force on 1 October without a proper explanation of how they will even work in practice, National’s Shadow Treasurer Andrew Bayly says.

Kāinga Ora Chief Exec misled Select Committee
August 17, 2021
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Nicola Willis
Kāinga Ora Chief Executive Andrew McKenzie must explain himself to Parliament in light of a startling admission that he made misleading comments in reply to my questions in a recent Select Committee hearing, National’s Housing spokesperson Nicola Willis says.

Labour delivers more officials than KiwiBuild houses
August 16, 2021
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Nicola Willis
New figures released to National show Labour has hired more housing officials than it has built KiwiBuild homes, National’s Housing spokesperson Nicola Willis says.

Labour failing first-home buyers
August 04, 2021
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Nicola Willis
Labour is set to break yet another of its housing promises with the number of first-home buyers getting First Home Grants on track for a record low, National’s Housing spokesperson Nicola Willis says.

Labour fudging state house numbers
July 27, 2021
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Nicola Willis
The Labour Government’s claim to have delivered 8000 new state houses has been revealed as a pumped-up figure that vastly exaggerates the number of houses it has actually built, National’s Housing spokesperson Nicola Willis says.

Labour does not understand tax fundamentals
July 07, 2021
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Andrew Bayly
Today we accepted a petition from Lindsay Calvi-Freeman signed by nearly 15,000 people. The petition calls for the Government to reverse their decision to remove tax deductibility of interest for landlords, National’s Shadow Treasurer Andrew Bayly and Housing spokesperson Nicola Willis say.

Massive spike in at-risk people waiting for a state house
July 04, 2021
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Nicola Willis
Never before released data shows there has been a huge increase in the number of people in severe need waiting for a state house, National’s Housing spokesperson Nicola Willis says.

NZ tops the OECD for least affordable housing
June 16, 2021
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Nicola Willis
New Zealand has topped the OECD in relation to housing in the worst way possible coming in at number one for Bloomberg’s real estate risk rankings, National’s Housing spokesperson Nicola Willis says.

National will reverse interest deductibility changes
June 10, 2021
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Andrew Bayly
The arrival of the belated interest deductibility and Brightline rules discussion document brings with it confirmation of what an unprincipled mess the proposed legislation is, National’s Shadow Treasurer Andrew Bayly and Housing spokesperson Nicola Willis say.

It’s taken the Govt too long to act on emergency housing
May 13, 2021
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Louise Upston
After months of reports of substandard emergency accommodation, particularly in Rotorua, the Government has finally made moves to improve the situation, National’s Social Development spokesperson Louise Upston says.

State housing register continues to climb
May 10, 2021
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Nicola Willis
Our public housing system is at breaking point with yet another record high number of New Zealanders waiting for a state house, National’s Housing spokesperson Nicola Willis says.

Woods must explain latest KiwiBuild shambles
May 08, 2021
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Nicola Willis
First-home buyers and taxpayers deserve answers from Housing Minister Megan Woods after the Government’s latest KiwiBuild disaster left them in the lurch, National’s Housing spokesperson Nicola Willis says.

Officials doubtful Labour’s housing package would work
April 29, 2021
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Nicola Willis
Officials cast serious doubt over the effectiveness of the Government’s housing package in the months before its announcement, questioning whether it would increase the supply of housing and outlined its dire impact on the lives of renters, National’s Housing spokesperson Nicola Willis says.

Emergency motels making millions and set to grow
April 22, 2021
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Nicola Willis
New figures show the multi-million dollars being netted by top-earning emergency motels with the Government expecting this to continue for at least the next few years, National’s Housing spokesperson Nicola Willis says.

Auditor-General finds Ihumātao deal was ‘unlawful’
April 20, 2021
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Nicola Willis
The Auditor-General has confirmed the Labour Government unlawfully used millions of taxpayer dollars to settle the Ihumātao land dispute.

Homebuyers need action, not political pondering
April 15, 2021
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Judith Collins
The Government’s admission that it’s considering forcing councils to open up more land for housing in the near future is the right idea, but New Zealanders need a Government that will take action rather than just think about it, Leader of the Opposition Judith Collins says.

National has a plan, Labour light on details
April 15, 2021
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Andrew Bayly
The Housing Minister’s lack of answers about how the Government will allocate housing infrastructure funding shows why Labour needs to support National’s plan, National’s Infrastructure spokesperson Andrew Bayly says.

Freeing up land key to getting more houses built
April 14, 2021
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Nicola Willis
National’s proposed law change will ensure more houses are built faster, Housing spokesperson Nicola Willis says.

A smarter, faster way to fund housing infrastructure
April 14, 2021
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Andrew Bayly
National has designed a streamlined mechanism for allocating the Government’s $3.8 billion fund for housing infrastructure, National’s Infrastructure spokesperson Andrew Bayly says.

National proposes new law to get more houses built
April 14, 2021
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Judith Collins
National is proposing an alternative solution to the housing shortage that will urgently address the country’s land supply problem and help councils fund supporting infrastructure.

Government’s housing tax policy a lose/lose
April 08, 2021
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Andrew Bayly
The consequences of the interest deductibility tax announced as part of the Government’s housing policies are already being felt by landlords and renters alike, National’s Shadow Treasurer Andrew Bayly says.

Briefing for the Prime Minister on rising rents
March 29, 2021
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Judith Collins
In the spirit of bipartisanship, National has helped the Prime Minister prepare for her post-Cabinet press conference today by collating the data she requested on rent increases – although she might want to think carefully before drawing public attention to it, Leader of the Opposition Judith Collins says.

Kiwis want details, not to be misled by Ms Woods
March 29, 2021
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Nicola Willis
Housing Minister Megan Woods should spend less time making misleading statements to Parliament and more time fronting up to New Zealanders with details on her housing policy, National’s Housing spokesperson Nicola Willis says.

Labour’s housing policy looking like KiwiBuild 2.0
March 25, 2021
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Nicola Willis
If Labour was serious about its housing policy it would’ve provided detail and criteria when it announced it, yet we’ve seen none of that, National’s Housing spokesperson Nicola Willis says.

Emergency motels have taxpayers over a barrel
March 18, 2021
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Nicola Willis
Labour’s lack of solutions to the housing shortage has seen the Government fork out millions in emergency housing grants to some motels and hotels, which are raking it in at the expense of taxpayers.

Auditor-General should investigate Ihumātao deal
March 16, 2021
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Michael Woodhouse
National has written to the Auditor-General, requesting that he investigate the apparent misuse of millions in taxpayer dollars used to settle the Ihumātao land dispute.

House prices increase $50,000 in 30 days
March 11, 2021
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Nicola Willis
The latest REINZ data out today shows Labour is failing to address New Zealand’s housing shortage, National’s Housing spokesperson Nicola Willis says.

Unit Titles Member’s Bill passes first reading
March 10, 2021
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Nicola Willis
Today’s passing of my Member’s Bill reforming the Unit Titles Act is a win for thousands of Kiwis who have been wrangling with unfit legislation for years, National’s Housing spokesperson Nicola Willis says.

More than $11,000 taxpayer dollars spent on a video
March 10, 2021
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Nicola Willis
The Housing Minister must justify spending more than $11,000 on promotional videos for a housing scheme that has only benefited 12 families, National’s Housing spokesperson Nicola Willis says.

Emergency housing costing taxpayers $1m a day
March 09, 2021
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Nicola Willis
The extent of the Government’s failure to get on top of New Zealand’s housing shortage has been laid bare by new figures that show more than $1 million dollars of taxpayer money is being spent per day on motels for emergency housing.

Housing wait list at record highs under Labour
February 26, 2021
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Nicola Willis
Our public housing system is bursting at the seams with record high numbers of New Zealanders waiting for a state house, National’s Housing spokesperson Nicola Willis says.

Minister fudging more public housing numbers
February 25, 2021
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Nicola Willis
Housing Minister Megan Woods should stop fudging the numbers around New Zealand’s public housing stock and just get on with building more houses, National’s Housing spokesperson Nicola Willis says.

Govt defence of housing scheme plain ridiculous
February 24, 2021
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Nicola Willis
Housing Minister Megan Woods’ continued defence of a Government scheme that has put just 12 families into a home shows just how out of touch her Government is about the scale of New Zealand’s housing shortage, National’s Housing spokesperson Nicola Willis says.

Emergency powers needed to solve housing crisis
January 26, 2021
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Judith Collins
National is calling on the Government to introduce urgent temporary legislation to make housing easier to build, and has offered to support the law change through Parliament.

Bolder action required to fix housing emergency
January 21, 2021
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Nicola Willis
The Government’s public housing plan will fall well short of fixing New Zealand’s housing emergency, National’s Housing spokesperson Nicola Willis says.

Labour lets housing waitlist surge out of control
January 20, 2021
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Nicola Willis
Despite promises to fix our housing shortage housing has become more unaffordable than ever under Labour, with the public housing wait list quadrupling over the last three years, National’s Housing spokesperson Nicola Willis says.

Govt’s lack of housing ideas leaves Kiwis cold
December 11, 2020
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Nicola Willis
More and more New Zealanders are feeling helpless as the property ladder is rapidly pulled up in front of them because the Government has no real solutions to the housing crisis.

Emergency measures needed to accelerate housing supply
December 08, 2020
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Nicola Willis
Housing statistics released today and over the weekend show an unfolding disaster for New Zealand families and communities, National’s Housing spokesperson Nicola Willis says.

Housing wait list continues to surge under Labour
December 04, 2020
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Nicola Willis
Our public housing system is bursting at the seams with record-high numbers of New Zealanders waiting for a home and thousands more getting emergency grants to live in motels, National’s Housing spokesperson Nicola Willis says.

Five things the Government could do to fix housing
December 01, 2020
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Nicola Willis
With the 53rd Parliament getting down to business this week, National is urging the Government to implement five solutions to the housing crisis that do not involving hiking tax.

RMA reform needed now
November 12, 2020
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Nicola Willis
The steep increase in house price numbers released today shows how important it is that the Government gets on with RMA reform, immediately, National’s Housing spokesperson Nicola Willis says.

Govt must ask Reserve Bank hard questions on housing
November 11, 2020
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Andrew Bayly
Today’s announcement of a Funding for Lending scheme without any requirement for the new lending to be targeted at productive investment will add even more pressure to an already stretched housing market, National Party Shadow Treasurer Andrew Bayly says.