ACT's housing policy promises to scrap consent process again.
ACTS’s housing policy is definitely a backward step in my opinion. Allowing builders to opt out of building consents will do nothing to improve the quality of housing.
Builders would be able to opt out of council building consents too, which Seymour said would increase affordability and innovation. Innovation - yeah right! Cost cutting and lowering standards.
Seymour’s comment that “most of the time, people are trying to build houses in an old horse paddock where there is no biodiversity," ignores the fact that most protests are in established housing areas when there is redevelopment and intensification. As this headline in Stuff says 'Future slums' coming to your neighbourhood, residents' petition warns.’
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/property/300817211/future-slums-coming-to-your-neighbourhood-residents-petition-warns
The ACT Party says it will allow builders to opt out of council building consents to improve the supply, quality and cost of housing.
Party leader David Seymour announced the housing policy today, which would also include scrapping the reformed Resource Management Act and using building insurance as an alternative to building consent authorities.
"Housing is still in crisis and Labour and National are equally responsible, it's time to stop demand-side policies that aren't working and set a target for supply," he said.
ACT calculated the country needed to build 51,000 homes annually for the next five years to meet demand, he said.
What we need is an overhaul of resource management law in New Zealand based on the assumption that you can do what you like on your property, so long as you are not harming your neighbours," Seymour said.
"We say if you can get it privately insured, you can build it. If you can't, maybe someone's trying to tell you something, but having the government trying to zone various parts of the country in or out and then making itself the de facto insurer is less efficient and counter-productive for everybody," Seymour said.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political...-process-again