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OECD: 'Housing affordability in NZ is a problem'

Publish Date
Tue, 25 Jun 2019, 5:37PM
The OECD is calling on the Government to make significant changes to its under-pressure KiwiBuild programme (Image / NZH)

OECD: 'Housing affordability in NZ is a problem'

Publish Date
Tue, 25 Jun 2019, 5:37PM

The OECD is calling on the Government to make significant changes to its under-pressure KiwiBuild programme, saying it should do more to focus on people on low incomes.

It wants the Government to reallocate money from KiwiBuild to social housing.

This comes as the Government prepares to unveil the policy's reset, after it has failed to meet expectations.

Despite this, Finance Minister Grant Robertson this morning said KiwiBuild was never "necessarily aimed at very low-income people," but for first-home buyers.

His comments came at a press conference, where members of the OECD presented their survey of New Zealand's economy.

The report said that current wellbeing in New Zealand was generally high but some weaknesses had emerged.

One such area of weakness was around housing.

The report said more needed to be done when it comes to increasing housing affordability and bolstering supply.

Although the report said schemes such as KiwiBuild aim to address these issues, the OECD thinks the policy needs a shake-up.

"To assist low-income renters, the supply of social housing should be expanded, including by reallocating money from KiwiBuild."

Speaking to media, OECD Deputy Secretary-General Ulrik Vestergaard Knudsen said most low-income renters in New Zealand face very high housing costs.

"What we are saying here in our report is that maybe there is scope for looking a little bit more at rental housing, given the fact that many of the people that the Government is trying to help with this programme cannot afford to buy homes of their own.

"One of the things we're saying is to have more of a focus on rental housing and maybe look at some of the density requirements for land use."

LISTEN ABOVE AS ULRIK VESTERGAARD KNUDSEN TALKS TO HEATHER DU PLESSIS-ALLAN

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