Labour to expand Auckland city boundaries for affordable housing

Labour wants to undertake more large-scale housing developments like this one at Hobsonville Point. Photo / File

Labour will free up Auckland's urban boundary to help "turbocharge" affordable housing across Auckland, says the party's Auckland Issues spokesman Phil Twyford.

The party has promised to build 100,000 affordable homes over the next decade, half of which will be in Auckland where housing prices are showing signs of falling but still out of reach for many.

"We are looking at how we can turbocharge urban development projects and increase the supply of affordable housing," Twyford said.

He said Labour would establish an Affordable Housing Authority to work with Auckland Council and its development arm, Panuku Development Auckland, to undertake a dozen large-scale housing developments like Hobsonville Point.

He says Labour will makes changes to the council's planning rulebook, or Unitary Plan, to free up the urban boundary in conjunction with new financing tools for transport and other infrastructure.

Twyford has been a strong advocate for infrastructure bonds within developments paid back through a targeted rate on properties over time.

The Labour MP did not specify sites for large-scale housing development, but mentioned the north-west and south where work has started on about 25,000 new houses in Kumeu-Huapai-Riverhead and more than 20,000 homes between Drury and Pukekohe in the south.

Asked if Labour would adopt National's plan for a $955m state highway between Manukau and Drury to accommodate growth and an alternative route to the Southern Motorway, Twyford said Labour would "take a very hard look at it".

Twyford said Labour would also work with Panuku Development Auckland and Housing New Zealand on redevelopment projects like Northcote where there is a plan to rebuild the town centre and build 700 new state and affordable homes.

"Panuku Development Auckland has done a really good job scoping out a number of sites, but don't have the balance sheet to undertake the kind of ambitious masterplan development we want to do on that scale," said Twyford.

He said Labour would sell the "occasional house here and there" as part of managing the Housing New Zealand portfolio in Auckland, but would not sell off large numbers as National has been doing.

"We will do a lot less than that and build more state houses, inject affordable homes for first home buyers and there will be a mix of open-market homes," he said.

Meanwhile, Kiwi Property has received approval from the Overseas Investment Office to buy 39.2ha of a combined parcel of 51.3ha of land at Drury to develop a new town centre over the next 20 years to meet growth in the area.