Christopher Luxon hits back at PM over Hawke's Bay housing crisis

Christopher Luxon speaking at Taradale RSA on Thursday. Photo / Paul Taylor

National leader Christopher Luxon has hit back at the Prime Minister's comments about Hawke's Bay's housing crisis, and claims changes could be made to bring down rental prices.

There are about 1700 families and applicants on the waiting list in Hawke's Bay who have been deemed eligible for public housing but for whom there are no homes available.

The number was addressed by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern during a visit to the region last week where she opened 40 new Kāinga Ora homes in Hastings.

During the visit, Ardern said "we are playing catch up" following under investment in public housing by the former National government across the region.

"The pity is, had we been building at the rate we are building at now under the last government, we could have cleared that waiting list," Ardern said last week.

Jacinda Ardern opening public housing in Hastings last week. Photo / Warren Buckland

"We are playing catch up but at a significant wait."

On Thursday, National leader Chris Luxon also visited Hawke's Bay, speaking to students at Hastings Boys' High School, locals in Havelock North, and a business luncheon at Taradale RSA.

Speaking to media, he addressed Ardern's comments.

"What I would say to her is that she has had five years in Government and her Government has utterly ... failed on every single level of housing."

He said the public housing waiting list had ballooned during the past four years and rentals had increased on average about $150 per week.

Luxon spent the day in Hawke's Bay on Thursday. Photo / Paul Taylor

"The real problem with the rental market is that prices have gone up $150 per week [on average] in rents, to rent out the same house you had four years ago."

When pushed on whether he agreed with the former National Government selling off and removing public housing in Hawke's Bay in the past, Luxon would not say whether he agreed or disagreed with that move.

Luxon claimed Labour's move to introduce taxes on landlords such as "extending bright-line and removing interest deductibility" had in part forced rental prices up.

He said if National was elected they would "unwind" those taxes to help address high rental prices - which he estimated had increased rents by about $50 per week on average.

Ardern stated last week that there were 600 public and transitional houses being built in Hawke's Bay at present.