How covenants trumped density in court

Mōrena. Long stories short; here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Monday, August 26:

1. A precedent-setting series of court decisions appear to have weaponised old covenants in suburb development plans to block the push for density from the Beehive. It may force the Government to look at nuking covenants via Parliament.

2. Treasury framed Budget 2024’s cancer drugs decision in advice to Nicola Willis as purely a tradeoff between the drugs and primary care spending. It simply assumed the primacy of capping Government spending below 30% of GDP, which keeps low interest rates to support high land values. By default, that prioritises a few basis points of interest costs and a few percentage points of land over-valuation over both treating cancer patients and preventing disease and injury. Without debate.

3. In solutions news, a partnership between iwi, a council and a Māori Health Authority is opening a 60-home development in Kaikohe this morning to keep homeless kids out of A&E with chest infections.

4. In the quote of the day, Tia Ashby, the CEO of the health provider-turned-house-builder says: “You can't just keep on chucking an asthma inhaler at a child.”

5. In the chart of the day, the United States’ job market is remarkably robust, largely because of loose fiscal policy. The problem for everyone else in a financial world dominated by the US dollar is that’s a factor keeping US official interest rates high, and therefore New Zealand fixed mortgage rates high.

6. In our climate graphic of the day, central Australia is currently 12 degrees hotter than usual in winter because of climate change.

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(There is more detail and analysis below the paywall fold and in the podcast above for paying subscribers.)

The Top Six on Monday, August 26

1. An example of how covenants stop new housing

7-year legal battle confirms power of covenants to block development

Photo supplied. A street sign at the residential area in St Arnaud in dispute

This NZ Herald-RNZ article from Tracy Neal about a failed attempt to subdivide two plots of land in a residential area of St Arnaud in the Nelson Lakes is a useful example of how covenants can stop new housing supply being added in residential-zoned areas, even if new laws are written in the Beehive to force more density.