Housing Minister Chris Bishop has accused Christchurch City Council of defying the law and warned that the Government will no longer tolerate local authorities blocking housing development.
“Christchurch City Council just outright defied its legal obligations, voting to ignore the MDRS altogether. The last Government used RMA intervention powers just to make them do it,” Bishop said.
He said the council then spent years and significant money “arguing for special exemptions, ignoring clear directives from central government.”
“Let me be absolutely clear: the days of letting councils decide that growth shouldn’t happen at all are over,” he said.
Bishop made the remarks during a speech to the Wellington Chamber of Commerce, where he outlined a raft of reforms aimed at removing what he called the “culture of no” in housing policy.
“Local government has been one of the largest barriers to housing growth in New Zealand,” he said.
“I’ve lost count of the number of people who have told me awful stories about battles with council planners who try and micro-manage every little element of a housing development.”
Some planning departments, he said, are “basically a law unto themselves.”
“We aren’t willing to let a single line in a district plan hold back millions or billions in economic potential. If local councillors don’t have the courage to make the tough decisions, we will do it for them.”
Bishop announced that Cabinet had agreed to create a new regulation-making power under the Resource Management Act (RMA) allowing ministers to modify or remove local council plan provisions if they are found to restrict growth, development capacity, or employment.
But Labour says the move is a serious case of Government overreach that strips power from locally elected officials.
“Chris Bishop has taken National’s general disdain for local councils up a notch and has assigned himself the role of Chief Council Despot,” said Labour local government spokesperson Tangi Utikere.
“Councils are elected by the people they serve and know their regions and cities best. Chris Bishop deciding that plans made by local communities are overly restrictive without any evidence to back it up is wrong.”
“National’s Resource Management Act legislation is getting the whims of every minister taped to it – instead of protecting natural and urban environments and delivering better outcomes, the hodge podge law is giving Chris Bishop a free pass to do whatever he likes.”
“New Zealand is not a sandpit for Chris Bishop to play in.”
Utikere said the Government had abandoned bipartisan cooperation and undermined councils at every opportunity.
“We had a bipartisan agreement on Medium Density Residential Standards which National backed out of. They shafted councils on water, pulled out of RMA reform that was already underway to fix intensification, and used their fast-track law to override much of what local communities want.”
“National has long displayed a thinly veiled disdain for local Government, offending regional and local councils at every turn. It’s not just rude, it’s poor politics. There is absolutely nothing heroic about this,” he said.
Bishop said the reforms were necessary to end years of stagnation and missed opportunities, and that Christchurch would now be required to zone enough land to meet 30 years of housing demand.
“These reforms are bold and ambitious steps in solving our housing crisis. If done right, they will transform the New Zealand economy, and bring housing within reach of the next generation, like it was for ours.”
Consultation on the Government’s “Going for Housing Growth” proposals opened today and will run until 17 August.
