'Super-ministry' to bring housing agencies under one roof

Housing is one of the Government's biggest issues, says minister Phil Twyford. Photo / Doug Sherring

A new housing and urban development "super-ministry" bringing together all agencies involved in housing will be running by October, Housing Minister Phil Twyford says.

The new Ministry of Housing and Urban Development will bring together aspects of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, Social Development and Treasury to advise the Government on housing issues.

"Addressing the national housing crisis is one of the biggest challenges our Government faces," Twyford said.

"The new ministry will provide the focus and capability in the public service to deliver our reform agenda."

It will become the Government's lead adviser on housing and urban development, providing advice on housing issues, including homelessness, ensuring affordable, warm, safe and dry rental housing in the private and public markets, and support for first home buyers.

The ministry would bring together functions across from existing agencies already working in the housing area, and funds to pay for it could come from their existing operational budgets:

• Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE): the housing and urban policy functions, the KiwiBuild Unit and the Community Housing Regulatory Authority

• Ministry of Social Development (MSD): policy for emergency, transitional and public housing

• Treasury: monitoring of Housing New Zealand (HNZ) and Tāmaki Redevelopment Company

Twyford said the super ministry would end the fragmented approach caused by involving a number of agencies.

MSD would continue to manage the housing waiting list.

Twyford told Radio New Zealand the move was aimed at providing more houses in a more efficient, capable and accountable way.

He said there was very little capability to deliver Kiwibuild. "We're having to build that pretty much from scratch."

An urban development authority would be established to be the "delivery agency" for Kiwibuild and large-scale development projects.

"That would be a powerful delivery agency to speed up the building of housing and these large complex development projects.

"We need an end-to-end approach to the whole housing system."