Phil Twyford
Firstly, congratulations to Indian Newslink for 19 years of publication and their important role as a respected provider of news in the Indian community.
I would also like to acknowledge the 200,000 strong Indian community in New Zealand who all make a valued contribution to our society and economy.
I know that the national housing crisis has impacted on the Kiwi dream for many young families in the Indian community through making it impossible to buy your first home.
Homeownership rates are at their lowest since 1951, and in Auckland alone, there is an estimated shortfall of 50,000 homes.
New Ministry
Our Government is willing to intervene in our broken market to help a generation of young migrants and New Zealanders who have good jobs and are priced out of home ownership.
Our Government has a bold, comprehensive plan to build our way out of the housing crisis.
We have created the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) which will provide leadership and focus to government efforts to end homelessness, make housing affordable and make cities more liveable.
We are also changing the tax settings to discourage property speculators, we are creating an Urban Development Authority to get large scale housing developments built sooner, and building thousands of affordable, modest starter homes for first home buyers through KiwiBuild.
Ambitious Plan
In the first year, we will build 1000 KiwiBuild homes, with the full ramp up of construction reaching 5000 homes by June 2020 and 10,000 homes by June 2021.
We are doing this by using underused Crown land or private land for housing and partnering with private developers through the Buying off the Plans initiative.
This means developments that would otherwise be delayed or not built at all, will be built under KiwiBuild.
We have already received over 100 responses to our tender from developers who want to be part of the contribution to KiwiBuild homes over the next couple of years.
Leveraging developments
We’re also going to leverage existing government developments and build KiwiBuild homes as part of Government-led housing initiatives.
We have already announced the Mangere and Mt Roskill developments, which will both build 10,000 new homes that will be linked up to Auckland’s communities through the planned light rail line.
These developments will be a mix of public, market and KiwiBuild homes and are great examples of how local and central government are working together to build vibrant communities throughout Auckland.
Large Projects
Another way we will help families realise the Kiwi dream of homeownership through KiwiBuild is through large scale projects.
These will be major urban redevelopment projects that integrate housing, public transport, health, and education.
For example, the Mt Albert development at Unitec will be part of a master-planned development of 3000 to 4000 homes.
Our Government’s vision is to develop this prime site with a mix of affordable KiwiBuild homes for first homebuyers, alongside public housing and open market homes.
It will be a showcase of modern urban development with excellent transport connections.
KiwiBuild will help transform the building and housing sectors and drive innovation to develop new ways to build high-quality, affordable houses.
Streamlined Planning
We are streamlining planning and consenting processes, building the capability and capacity of the construction sector, and investing in innovative approaches, like off-site manufacturing.
Kiwi ingenuity and KiwiBuild go together and I encourage local companies to contact the KiwiBuild Unit to see if they can partner to build homes.
We have already helped 18 families in Papakura achieve the Kiwi dream at the McLennan development, and the Government will be announcing many more such developments in the coming weeks and months.
If you are a first home buyer looking to own your own home, register your interest on the KiwiBuild website to be notified when new homes are ready to be balloted.
I hope that many families in the Indian community who are locked out of homeownership are able to realise the kiwi dream through KiwiBuild.
Register your interest at http://kiwibuild.govt.nz
Phil Twyford is Housing & Urban Development, and Transport Minister
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Photo Caption:
- Housing and Urban Development Minister Phil Twyford
- Phil Twyford launching Kiwibuild
- Construction under KiwiBuild starts (RNZ Photo by Sophia Duckor-Jones)
- An Artist’s impression of outside the apartment building complex to be built in Onehunga (Photo Supplied to RNZ)
(Pictures Supplied)
