“The latest figures from Stats NZ confirm what the construction sector has been warning for months: building consents are down under the National Government. The slowdown is yet another sign that the Government’s economic mismanagement is making things worse for Kiwi households and businesses,” Labour infrastructure spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said.
“The economy remains weak thanks to the government’s cancellation of infrastructure projects, leaving 13,000 construction workers out of a job last year. Every scrapped project means fewer jobs and fewer homes, resulting in rising unemployment, rising homelessness, and the sharpest recession, excluding COVID-19, in 30 years.
“If the Government was serious about economic growth, it would reverse its cuts and invest in public services, infrastructure, and new homes, not axing funding for schools, hospitals, and public housing,” Barbara Edmonds said.
In the year ended January 2025, consents fell to 33,812 new homes, down 7.2 percent compared with the year ended January 2024.
“New homes are getting further from reach thanks to the reckless cuts of this Government. It’s not only public housing that’s been ditched – new privately owned family homes aren’t getting built either. Any promises of homes from Chris Bishop are down the gurgler,” Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said.
“On top of that, National’s $2.9 billion landlord tax cuts have made things worse. Labour kept interest deductibility for new builds to encourage investment in more housing, but National scrapped that, shifting investment away from new builds and back into existing homes. That means fewer houses being built and house prices likely to increase.
“It’s simple: build more public houses so people have somewhere to live. Don’t make living so expensive that people can’t build homes. Housing is the bare minimum that people need to live and it also helps grow the economy by getting more Kiwis into work,” Kieran McAnulty said.