New Zealand's government has slashed Auckland's housing targets again, cutting the city's minimum housing capacity from 1.6 million to 1.4 million homes—the second major reduction in a matter of weeks.
According to an exclusive report by The Spinoff, this latest cut comes after the government already reduced the original target of 2 million homes down to 1.6 million in mid-February. That means roughly three-quarters of the additional housing capacity from the original plan has been eliminated.
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown didn't mince words: "Bishop's been done over by his own party and Act."
He's talking about Housing Minister Chris Bishop, who championed the ambitious 2 million homes plan earlier this year. That plan aimed to tackle Auckland's chronic housing shortage by upzoning suburbs and allowing higher-density development. It was bold. It was evidence-based. And it lasted about two months before political reality hit.
What killed it? Suburban backlash. Residents in wealthy areas like Botany, Parnell, and Epsom revolted against the prospect of apartments and townhouses in their leafy neighbourhoods. Act leader David Seymour—who happens to be the MP for Epsom—along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Howick MP Simeon Brown, led the rollback.
The irony is thick: A coalition that campaigned on fixing New Zealand's housing crisis has just gutted the most significant housing reform in years because it upset homeowners in safe National and Act seats.
The technical reality makes this even more farcical. Officials estimate that mandatory zoning requirements—apartments around train stations, busways, and town centres, plus 15-storey upzoning around City Rail Link stations—will result in roughly 1.6 million homes of capacity anyway. So the government just fought a political battle to reduce a target below what will probably happen regardless.
Meanwhile, Auckland's housing crisis continues. Prices are unaffordable, rents are climbing, and young Kiwis are either leaving for Australia or living with their parents into their 30s.
Mate, there's a whole continent and a thousand islands down here. But if you're under 40 in Auckland, good luck finding a place to live. The government just made sure of that.
