“It puts a huge strain on a lot of people, and of course, the social housing waitlist is up significantly.
“Very sadly, we have families right around New Zealand living in tough circumstances - cars, tents, campgrounds. It’s a social injustice that drives me.”
The solution was “more houses everywhere”, he said.
Bishop said National would ask councils to rezone land in towns and cities and make sure councils could facilitate the new housing by sorting out infrastructure funding restraints that held them back.
“The third bit is providing incentives for councils that go for housing growth.
“We have a policy of providing payments in cash for councils that make sure enough houses are built over and above the five-year average of what they’ve done in the past.”
Every house consented and built above that average would result in a $25,000 payment to the council “for whatever they want”, he said.
In terms of the rental market, it was “supply and demand”, Bishop said.
Fewer landlords meant higher prices, he said.
“We are going to change some of the rules around tax and tenancy to encourage more landlords into the market.
“We also need more social houses, which are essentially for people who can’t afford the rental market.
“There is a role for Kāinga Ora, but there is also a role for community providers to do more so as well.”
Bishop said one example locally was the Wai Ora Christian Community Trust, which he visited while in Whanganui.
“We need more rentals, we need more social houses, we need more private sector houses, we need more papakāinga houses, we need to unlock Māori land, and we need wrap-around social support.
“I’m personally really passionate about this, and I see it as one of the biggest challenges facing New Zealand.”
National’s approach was to trust local communities, Bishop said.
“Not all the answers come out of Wellington, and I say that as a Wellingtonian.”
Local government had a lot to deal with at the moment and it could be forgiven for thinking they had been “pretty put upon”, Bishop said.
“The RMA [Resource Management Act] reforms are very different to the Three Waters reforms and there is no joined-up thinking. Then you’ve got the Future for Local Government off doing its own thing.
“A lot of people in local government say to me, ‘Man, just stop with all the stuff’.
“I hear that and go, ‘Yeah, fair enough’.”
Mike Tweed is an assistant news director and multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.
