ROSS GIBLIN/STUFF
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was asked if KiwiBuild would still be a policy at the 2020 election.
OPINION: Belief is powerful. It can also be beautiful; the way a child has complete trust in their parents or the unfailing certainty of Warriors fans that next year is our year.
It is also resistant to reason; something that becomes self-evident to anyone who has spoken to a New Zealand First voter.
For many, a blind adherence to an outdated idea, like astrology or the gender pay gap, is harmless.
When combined with political power it can cause problems. We are seeing this in the unravelling of KiwiBuild.
Labour believes that capitalism is to blame for the lack of affordable accommodation. Because the magic capitalist economic machine thing didn't make enough houses Labour convinced themselves that what was needed was government intervention.
Michael Joseph Savage built houses; why can't Jacinda Ardern?
Joseph Johnson/Stuff
New Housing Minister Megan Woods is no stranger to a hardhat and Hi Vis, but may be in for a few surprises when it comes to implementing KiwiBuild.
It never occurred to the incoming government to ponder; why isn't the magic capitalist economic machine thing building houses for poor people?
Capitalism, despite the greed and selfishness of the sexist white men running all of the companies, churns out cheap food, cars and electronics for the poor; why won't they build them houses?
Labour probably assumed that the answer was colonialism, racism and something to do with neoliberalism. Honestly; how did this lot get elected?
In 1974 we cranked out nearly forty thousand consents for new homes. Sadly, it was also during this period that central and local governments began to exert a growing micromanagement in the sector, culminating with the New Zealand Town and Country Planning Act 1977.
Housing has never recovered. Now it is impossible to build anything without complying with the Resource Management Act, Building Act, local land use rules and a local council consent process that is designed to drive builders into insolvency.
Government meddling has mired the building sector in maple syrup. Nothing can be done fast and nothing is ever done cheap. You need insulation, natural light, double glazing and enough room for two plants and a hypoallergenic cat. By law.
No one builds cheap houses because it is illegal to do so.
Drive around Hillsborough in Auckland and admire the acres of cheap pre-fab masterpieces that launched generations of Kiwis. We shall never see its like again, and those who built them made a fortune.
When new housing minister Dr Megan Woods began her parliamentary career in 2012 she told Parliament: "I believe in the power of an active New Zealand Government and State to make a real difference in people's lives, and that is why I am here."
Woods is a true believer, having served her political apprenticeship under Jim Anderton. She is in charge of central government's most ambitious infrastructure agenda since Think Big.
Her problem is that she cannot build affordable housing under the current regulatory structure. Worse, if she was to change the regulatory structure there would be no need for KiwiBuild as private firms would build cheap houses faster than the State ever could.
Belief is powerful, but as Dr Woods is about to fund out, you need more than that to build houses.
Sunday Star Times
