Minister breaks Budget promise on housing – Labour

The Government has so thoroughly lost control of the housing crisis that Chris Bishop doesn’t even seem to know how far behind the Government is.

“Asked in select committee about social housing delivery, Chris Bishop insisted everything was ‘on track’ despite advice released just hours earlier showing officials had been warning him since at least August that it wasn’t,” Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said.

“In Budget 2025, the Government said it would deliver 550 houses in Auckland by June 2026, but this morning we received an aide memoire sent to the Minister in August this year, saying the planned houses wouldn’t be delivered until November 2026 – months later.

“The Minister is calling it ‘slippage’ but he’s never been upfront with New Zealanders that he’s failing to deliver the very targets he trumpeted in May’s Budget.

“It took OIAs and a scrutiny hearing to find out – that’s not transparency that’s obfuscation. When is he going to start being up front with New Zealanders about his failures on housing?

“So far, this Government has only built 192 of the 2,050 homes they promised over the past two years. Remember Nicola Willis committed to 1000 houses in Auckland, and they aren’t even halfway.

“This Government is failing to deliver houses but leaves people out on the streets with nowhere to go anyway,” Kieran McAnulty said.