Bishop rolls over for Luxon in housing debacle – Labour

The Government’s reversal on Auckland’s housing framework exposes a fractured coalition that can’t get past its own internal squabbles to deliver homes for Kiwis.

“This is a humiliating backdown for Chris Bishop, who has spent months talking up housing reform only to be forced into swallowing a dead rat when Christopher Luxon threw his plan under the bus,” Labour’s Auckland spokesperson Carmel Sepuloni said.

“Everyone can see what’s really going on here: David Seymour is pulling the strings to pull housing projects from the suburbs, Christopher Luxon is doing as he’s told, and Chris Bishop is caving.

“This is a huge blow for Auckland families who already are struggling to cope with the high cost of living, and are looking for affordable homes. Aucklanders deserve certainty on what the Government’s plan is to address the city’s housing shortage,” Carmel Sepuloni said.

“Unfortunately, National’s U-turn puts politics ahead of solving the housing shortage and will mean hundreds of thousands fewer homes for families who desperately need them,” Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said.

“The Auckland Council has acted in good faith based on clear direction from central government, only for National to change the rules halfway through the process. That kind of chaos creates uncertainty, delays investment, and puts infrastructure planning at risk.

“It just shows Luxon lacks the courage to do what’s needed to fix the housing shortage, and succumbed to political pressure instead of working in good faith to get more houses built,” Kieran McAnulty said.