Which policies
stack up?
It's election year, and amongst all of the political jousting there are policy announcements aplenty.
But what we want to know as property professionals and Property Council members, is which party is singing from the same song sheet as us? Enter the Property Council Policy Yardstick, a tool designed to assess the various policy announcements alongside the Property Council’s advocacy priorities. You’re welcome.
Quick links
Click a priority to be taken to the appropriate page, or scroll at your leisure.
Enable thriving cities and infrastructure
- Build both up and out. Ensure good urban design by encouraging intensification around key transport nodes.
- Abolish rating differentials.
- Alternative funding mechanisms.
- Ring-fence development contributions.
Transform the planning system
- 30-year regional planning with development/infrastructure sector and outcomes focused.
- Priorities of resources and environmental limits are decided at a national level with cross-partisan support.
Adopt fairer regulation and tax settings
Deliver housing that enhances communities
- Increase housing supply.
- Further champion the Build to Rent housing sector.
- Cap local authority liability to 20%, establish minimum insurance requirements, develop a National Register of Products, create an independent regulator for consent applications, and create National or Regional Consenting authorities.
Improve sustainability and resilience
- Government and the property industry collaborate on reducing the emissions of the built environment.
- Targeted incentives for buildings that invest in energy efficiency and clean energy.
- Work with the private sector to collect data in order to set national energy efficiency benchmarks for the operation of buildings.
- Mandate advertisement of energy efficiency ratings on the lease/sale of buildings.
- Introduce tax deductions for the costs of seismic strengthening.
Enable thriving cities
and infrastructure
Priority:
Build both up and out. Ensure good urban design by encouraging intensification around key transport nodes.
Pro greenfield development and pro intensification above maximum council plans if agreed on by community.
Pro-intensification to ensure the National Planning Framework and spatial planning provides for walkable cities with urban green space, active transport corridors, mixed-use development, watersensitive design, and green infrastructure; enabling more homes to be provided within the existing urban area with density done well.
No new policy released but supportive of development through National Policy Standard on Urban Development (i.e. minimum intensification of six storeys) and Medium Density Residential Standards (MDRS).
Flexibility for Councils to determine whether additional dwellings come from further greenfield development or additional density.
Encourage additional density (than currently exists) in transport corridors.
No announcement.
No announcement.
Support urban densification for central cities. Require Councils to demonstrate they have enough land zoned for new residential housing under the NPS-UD and MDRS.
Priority:
Abolish rating differentials.
No announcement.
No announcement.
No announcement.
No announcement.
Priority:
Alternative funding mechanisms.
Replace fuel taxes with road pricing. Make it easier for SPVs to occur. Share 50% of the GST revenue from new residential buildings with councils.
Targeted environmental taxes, congestion charges, resource rentals, and tourism infrastructure levies. Value uplift levy on land close to rapid public transport links.
No new policy released however, will continue the Acceleration Housing Fund to fund infrastructure for new housing.
Reform the Infrastructure Funding and Financing Act.
$1bn Housing Incentive Fund Build-for-Growth for Councils who provide resource consent for “extra” developments (above average resource consent).
Value Capture.
Public-private partnerships (including ACC, Super Fund and Kiwisaver).
No announcement.
No announcement.
Returning the GST on new residential builds back to local councils to fund infrastructure development.
Priority:
Ring-fence development contributions.
Unknown position on ring-fencing. However, ACT does want to reform development contributions so that the first developer can recoup some of their development contirbutions from future developers.
No announcement.
No announcement.
Infrastructure for new greenfield development will be funded from rates and levies applied to the new development, instead of being subsidised by other communities.
Transform the
planning system
Priority:
30-year regional planning with development/infrastructure sector and outcomes focused.
30-year partnerships between local and central government for infrastructure with the Infrastructure Commission. However, the policy does not mention private sector participation.
No announcement.
The Spatial Planning Act has a provision for the Regional Planning Committee to consult non-governmental organisations representing industry or development sectors. However, the Natural and Built Environment Act does not include a similar provision.
National has supported the idea of 30-year planning in the past. However, have a policy to repeal the Spatial Planning Act and Natural and Built Environment Act before Christmas if elected.
Priority:
Priorities of resources and environmental limits are decided at a national level with cross-partisan support.
Local councils will be responsible for setting environmental limits for water quality, quantity and discharges in consultation with their community.
Establish a Ministry for Climate Change.
Develop the Climate Change Adaptation Bill with measures and targets. No mention of cross-partisan support of legislation.
Labour has passed legislation that sets environmental limits in regional Natural and Built Environment Plan. Thus, not at a national or local level but at a regional level will cross-region support.
No announcement.
Disclaimer
Please note, this information was current as of 11 September 2023 and will continue to be updated as policies are announced, as best as they can be interpreted. Property Council New Zealand takes no responsibility for incorrect data but will do our best to ensure this is correct.