Dunne Speaks

  The government’s proposed National Policy Statement on Urban Development is a typical concoction from Urban Development Minister Phil Twyford. Its ambition that local councils “take a long-term strategic approach to the growth of their cities” is laudable. So too, is the expectation of “joining up transport, housing and infrastructure in a 30-year plan”. It all sounds realistic and achievable – in just the same way as his pre-2017 commitment and subsequent spectacular failure to build 100,000 affordable homes over a 10-year period, under the brand Kiwibuild sounded when first proposed. The way things are panning out suggest the Urban Development National Policy Statement could well be headed for a similar fate. The professed aim of the policy is to direct councils in major centres like Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown to free up planning rules to focus more on “high-quality streets, neighbourhoods and communities.” So far, so good. The pro...