It's just that we keep trying to pretend that the problem is something else - the housing finance system, the evil housebuilders stockpiling land, immigration, selfish baby boomers, almost anything but the real culprit:
Both the center-Left and center-Right have come together in agreement on the depth of New Zealand's housing affordability and its principal cause, overly restrictive urban planning regulations. Labour Party housing spokesperson (shadow minister) Phil Twyford and Oliver Hartwich, executive director of the New Zealand Initiative, wrote in a co-authored New Zealand Herald commentary:“Our own research leaves no doubt that planning rules are a root cause of the housing crisis, particularly in Auckland…”
Auckland is one of the world's ten most unaffordable cities (as, of course, is London). And the reason for this is a restrictive planning regime. Why do we pretend that this isn't true for London?
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