'Weaponise rates to drive housing intensification'

Should Auckland Council set higher higher rates to densify housing around the stations on the City Rail Link, where low-rise warehouses and housing currently predominate? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The Kākā

The six key news items from Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, May 20 are:

1. Apartment developer Mark Todd has suggested Auckland Council use higher rates to move low-rise warehouses and standalone houses out of areas around train stations to enable much denser housing types. See more below in The Lead.

2. ACC has paused a sexual abuse prevention programme after ACC Minister Scott Simpson suggested it could also shed responsibility for paying $3.6 billion of claims from victims of abuse. See more below in my Pick ‘n’ Mix of scoops and deep dives.

3. A report on learning support carers due later today is expected to show a sector in crisis after years of underfunding. See more in Coming up below.

4. Nicola Willis says just $65 million in tax breaks over four years are in Budget 2025 to encourage foreign investment in infrastructure.

5. A services sector survey yesterday showed the most of the economy is still contracting, raising fears of a double-dip recession.

6. A doubling of meth consumption is increasingly dominating the headlines. See more in my Pick’n’Mix.

There’s more analysis below the paywall fold and in my daily podcast above for paying subscribers.¹

Six key things to know on Tuesday, May 20

The lead: ‘Weaponise rates to urbanise properly’