Labour leader Chris Hipkins and National leader Chris Luxon skirmished over housing policy in tonight's TVNZ Leaders' Debate – though both could agree that more houses needed to be built.
The pair were asked: "How are you going to bring housing down to an affordable price?"
Hipkins said the answer was construction: "We need to build our way out of the housing crisis that we've got at the moment."
He acknowledged that KiwiBuild – which National has called a "totally failed policy" – was "an unrealistic promise".
When KiwiBuild began in 2018 there was an "overly ambitious" target to build 100,000 houses in 10 years. This target was scrapped under what Housing Minister Megan Woods described as a "reset" in 2019.
"I've refocused the Government's effort onto making sure that we are building more public houses, so that's more affordable rental accommodation," he said – before being pressed on when property prices would come down.
Both claimed their plans would drive down costs for renters and get Kiwis into their own homes. (Source: 1News)
"I'll tell you what will push up the price of houses: Allowing foreign buyers back into the market."
Currently, non-citizens are not allowed to buy residential property in New Zealand after the Labour-led government introduced a ban on foreign buyers.
National has argued the ban should be lifted, and instead, foreign buyers would pay a 15% tax on house purchases over $2 million.
The numbers behind the plan have been scrutinised by some economists, with National claiming it would raise $740 million on average per year. The idea – along with landlord tax breaks – could heat up New Zealand's housing market, according to experts.
"Labour's been an abject failure on housing, whether it's ownership, whether it's rental, whether it's state houses," Luxon said.
"There's been a lack of supply in all those three sectors and they're all connected together."
He agreed with Hipkins that more houses needed to be built.
"The way we go about delivering that end will be different."
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