Libertarian leader turns chief NIMBY
David Seymour to campaign to block Chris Bishop's up-zoning of inner-city Auckland, including Epsom; "This plan is not necessary, and will have negative unintended consequences," he says
Briefly in my Picks ‘n Mixes on Thursday, September 4, the top news, scoops and deep-dives in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate are:
ACT Leader & Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour has launched a major and surprising attack on Housing, Infrastructure & RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop’s plan to upzone Auckland’s inner-city suburbs by as many as two million new homes, saying “this plan is not necessary, and will have negative unintended consequences.” NZ Herald-$ (gift link)
Residential property values fell 0.2% in August, the fifth monthly fall in a row, Cotality (formerly CoreLogic) said in its monthly Home Value Index report released this morning. National values have dropped by 0.6% so far in 2025, with the gains seen late last year and early this year now wiped out. The nationwide median home value was $809,113, in August still 17.2% down from the January 2022 peak and the lowest level since August 2023.
Tax Justice Aotearoa & Better Taxes for a Better Future published a new report this morning titled: Big Tech, Little Tax, which estimated Facebook, Google and Amazon earned $1.6981 billion in revenue in Aotearoa last year, but reported taxable income here of just $27 million because of the use of ‘service fees’ charged to the local subsidiary by their parents in the United States.
My Must-Watch of the day is Chief Justice Dame Helen Winkelmann being interviewed on NZ Herald about a justice system under considerable stress, after she published her annual report.
Paying subscribers get more detail and analysis below the paywall fold all the links and Picks ‘n Mixes.
