ISSUE
Friday, August 15, 2025
Volume 16 . Issue 72
A major issue facing New Zealanders at the moment is housing. These days, only the lucky live in a warm, dry house at a price they can afford, and that’s not right.
If you’re renting, your house is likely to be uninsulated, cold and overpriced.
Last week I spoke to a young couple whose rent increases have forced them to move three times in 18 months. Each move took them further and further away from the city: from Point Chevalier to Mt Wellington. They’d love to buy a house but despite being hardworking, university-educated professionals they feel like they’ll never be able to afford it.
Owning your own home used to be a rite of passage for young New Zealanders. When I was young, I bought an old house and lovingly restored it. It was hard work, but also an achievement I look back on with real pride.
I want the same opportunity for our children, but there aren’t enough affordable houses available: just 5% of new builds are affordable compared with more than 30% in the 1960s and 1970s.
No wonder a record 51,274 New Zealanders left on a one way ticket to Australia in the past year.
I believe we can turn that around. Our children can have lives of opportunity here in New Zealand but it’s going to take bold policy from the government.
Under my leadership, Labour will move 100,000 families into their first homes over the next 10 years through our visionary Kiwibuild policy. It will be the largest public building programme in 50 years, and the houses will be warm, dry, quality homes to take pride in.
For those living in rental properties, we’ll introduce a Healthy Homes Guarantee so landlords insulate their rental properties and make sure they are efficient to heat and healthy to live in.
This will improve quality of life for renters, and it’s financially smart: research shows we can expect up to five dollars’ worth of benefits from every dollar spent on insulating homes.
Meanwhile, we’ll bring in a capital gains tax to encourage investment in productive businesses, not speculation in the housing market.
The next Labour government will bring change to housing in New Zealand because we won’t accept second best for our young people. I want them to have the same great opportunities I enjoyed when I was young.
- Mr. Shearer is the leader of the
Labour Party
A major issue facing New Zealanders at the moment is housing. These days, only the lucky live in a warm, dry house at a price they can afford, and that’s not right. If you’re renting, your house is likely to be uninsulated, cold and overpriced. Last week I spoke to a young couple whose rent...
A major issue facing New Zealanders at the moment is housing. These days, only the lucky live in a warm, dry house at a price they can afford, and that’s not right.
If you’re renting, your house is likely to be uninsulated, cold and overpriced.
Last week I spoke to a young couple whose rent increases have forced them to move three times in 18 months. Each move took them further and further away from the city: from Point Chevalier to Mt Wellington. They’d love to buy a house but despite being hardworking, university-educated professionals they feel like they’ll never be able to afford it.
Owning your own home used to be a rite of passage for young New Zealanders. When I was young, I bought an old house and lovingly restored it. It was hard work, but also an achievement I look back on with real pride.
I want the same opportunity for our children, but there aren’t enough affordable houses available: just 5% of new builds are affordable compared with more than 30% in the 1960s and 1970s.
No wonder a record 51,274 New Zealanders left on a one way ticket to Australia in the past year.
I believe we can turn that around. Our children can have lives of opportunity here in New Zealand but it’s going to take bold policy from the government.
Under my leadership, Labour will move 100,000 families into their first homes over the next 10 years through our visionary Kiwibuild policy. It will be the largest public building programme in 50 years, and the houses will be warm, dry, quality homes to take pride in.
For those living in rental properties, we’ll introduce a Healthy Homes Guarantee so landlords insulate their rental properties and make sure they are efficient to heat and healthy to live in.
This will improve quality of life for renters, and it’s financially smart: research shows we can expect up to five dollars’ worth of benefits from every dollar spent on insulating homes.
Meanwhile, we’ll bring in a capital gains tax to encourage investment in productive businesses, not speculation in the housing market.
The next Labour government will bring change to housing in New Zealand because we won’t accept second best for our young people. I want them to have the same great opportunities I enjoyed when I was young.
- Mr. Shearer is the leader of the
Labour Party
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