Northern Advocate
  • Northern Advocate home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei
  • Kaipara
  • Mangawhai
  • Dargaville

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northern Advocate

Job fears 'limiting building'

Northern Advocate
8 Nov, 2012 08:16 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Whangarei's mayor says a lack of job security is holding back the building industry and restricting first-time home buyers.

His comments were made as local authorities have been given an ultimatum to help increase the supply of affordable housing.

Finance Minister Bill English said councils need to free up enough land to allow the construction of more affordable homes or the Government would force them to do it through legislation.

The moves were announced in responses to the Productivity Commission's inquiry into home affordability. The package also includes changes to the Resource Management Act to streamline consenting processes.

While it was not getting cheaper to buy a first home in Whangarei, the market was more accessible than elsewhere, Mayor Morris Cutforth said: "We have quite a surplus of sections and land that can be built on - there's a lot of opportunity for young people to get into their new houses if they handle the situation correctly."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Unlike other areas, it was not necessary to free up council land to build new properties, Mr Cutforth said.

"There are a number of empty sections in and around Whangarei. Those sections are basically just sitting there unbuilt on, mainly because everyone seems to be waiting for the price to drop - whether that will happen or not is another story."

A lack of job security was hampering the building industry as people "don't feel safe" in their jobs, so were hesitant to invest in building projects.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

It was in the council's interest to streamline the building consent process, Mr Cutforth said.

"The more building we get, the better the economy."

Mr English said soaring house prices had helped fuel household debt and contributed to damaging imbalances in the economy: "Those factors make it vital that housing becomes more affordable. In addition, projections suggest that many more homes will be required in coming years than are being built."

Local authorities could exert considerable influence on the market with planning and consent decisions, he said.

But Mr English warned there would be no quick fixes to the problem.

The package highlighted the need to increase the supply of land both inside cities and on their fringes which is available for building new homes, he said.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Northern Advocate

Northern Advocate

'Will it take someone to die?': 85yo's fears after home demolished by airborne car

Northern Advocate

'Economic growth is key': Luxon discusses Northland's potential with iwi

Northern Advocate

Northland businesses unite for CCTV initiative to combat crime


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northern Advocate

'Will it take someone to die?': 85yo's fears after home demolished by airborne car
Northern Advocate

'Will it take someone to die?': 85yo's fears after home demolished by airborne car

A former occupant says it's the third time the house has been hit by a car

17 Jul 05:00 PM
'Economic growth is key': Luxon discusses Northland's potential with iwi
Northern Advocate

'Economic growth is key': Luxon discusses Northland's potential with iwi

17 Jul 06:02 AM
Northland businesses unite for CCTV initiative to combat crime
Northern Advocate

Northland businesses unite for CCTV initiative to combat crime

17 Jul 04:00 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northern Advocate e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Northern Advocate
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northern Advocate
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP