Auckland restricts central city housing supply potential

New apartment blocks will be limited to 20 storeys outside the central CBD in Auckland. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The Kākā

Briefly in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Monday, May 26:

1. The Auckland Council has limited buildings to 20 storeys beyond a small core of the CBD, which housing supply advocates say is a waste of the $8 billion of public money invested in the City Rail Link and Central Interceptor tunnels designed to enable housing densification on the the isthmus. See more in The Lead below.

2. Emblematic of the churn-and-burn migrant exploitation supporting our low investment-and-low wage housing-market-with-bits-tacked-on economy, Stuff has exposed a case where 500 RSE workers live in a dorm designed for 350 in Te Puke, paying $175 each per week in rent. See more below in The Sidebar.

3. If the Government thinks means-testing of BestStart and KiwiSaver is a good idea, why not do it for NZ Superannuation too? See more in Quote of the day below.

4. Further to the housing-market-with-bits-tacked-on nature of our economy, Opes Partners’ Andrew Nicol has detailed how he went from owning zero homes to 43 homes in 21 years before the age of 40. See more below in Number of the day.

5. Baby-boomers are entering the ‘draw-down’ phase of the savings, investment and draw-down cycle, which may restrict stock prices globally. See more below in Chart of the day.

6. Michael Morrah has the scoop today for The NZ Herald:1500 patients treated in corridors over 36 days at Middlemore ED. See more scoops and deep-dives in the Top Six ‘Pick ‘n’ Mix below.

There’s more analysis below the paywall fold and in my daily podcast above for paying subscribers¹

The Big Six on Monday, May 26

The Lead: ‘If only we’d gone higher’