Former National Cabinet Minister Maurice Williamson is urging the Government to pull back from its mandated intensification plans for Auckland, warning it is leading to public anger that will cost the party votes at next year’s election.
And in the first sign that sitting Auckland-based National MPs are uneasy about political fallout from Plan Change 120 - which allows for up to two million homes - Pakūranga MP and Minister for Auckland Simeon Brown said some of the proposals make no sense.
The two National Party stalwarts were speaking after a packed public meeting in Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s Botany electorate on Tuesday.
The meeting focused on Plan Change 120, prepared by the Auckland Council under legislation overseen by Resource Management Act Minister Chris Bishop
“I came out of Tuesday’s meeting with quite strong anger at the Government for being so arrogant, for not listening, and I can tell you if Chris Bishop sticks with the two million dwelling number, and I don’t think he will, it will heavily cost National Party votes at the next election,” Williamson told the Weekend Herald.
He said some at the meeting had voted National all their lives, but they had warned: “You can forget us voting for this lot again if they stick with this ridiculous number”.
Williamson, who is now one of two Auckland councillors for the Howick ward, said nearly everyone at the meeting was okay with more intensification along major transport corridors and town centres, but expressed anger at extending intensification into suburban streets.
He warned this would produce one-off monstrosities without car parks, forcing cars onto the street and eroding the value of existing homes. Inevitably, future plan changes might pull the rules back, but the damage would already be done.
Meanwhile, Brown said plans for a new transport corridor between Howick Village and Meadowlands, zoned for apartments under Plan Change 120, “make no sense at all”.
He described the route as “quiet suburban streets far from major transport links”.
He encouraged everyone in East Auckland to make a submission before the December 19 deadline, saying he expected Plan Change 120 would change as a result of the submissions received.
Williamson said there was no reason for the two million dwelling figure, saying it came from Labour enabling three homes of up to three storeys on most residential sites in Auckland.
He wants the two million figure reduced to 1.5 million, arguing that Bishop would still secure necessary intensification along transport corridors and town centres, without further encroaching on property values already undermined by poor-quality developments.
Williamson noted that National secured 45% of the party vote in Auckland at the 2023 election, compared with 35% across the rest of the country. He warned that unless Bishop pulled back, the party risked losing support in blue-ribbon seats at next year’s election.
A statement from Bishop’s office gave no sign of the minister reducing the two million dwellings figure to 1.5 million.
“There is no requirement in the legislation to build two million dwellings. The statutory obligation is for Auckland Council to enable the same level of capacity as Plan Change 78 … that provided capacity for roughly two million homes.”
The statement said Plan Change 120 provided the same overall capacity as Plan Change 78, but gave the council greater flexibility in deciding where and how that capacity was delivered, while significantly down-zoning suburban areas compared with Plan Change 78.
Bishop, who is running National’s campaign at next year’s election, did not comment on concerns Plan Change 120 could cost National party votes.
Bo Burns, the other councillor in Howick, supports Williamson’s call to roll back the two million housing figure to 1.5 million.
She said it was becoming clear to people that the two million figure was a Government directive. It was not just upsetting people in East Auckland, but in other National strongholds like Ōrākei, Mt Eden and Franklin, she said.
“Someone rang me the other day and said they had been a big financial supporter of the National Party for many years, and had resigned over the two million directive in Plan Change 120.”
Burns said she had heard whispers within the National Party of “don’t worry, it’s not going ahead”, and questioned why, if that were true, the next 12 months should be wasted on hearings.
“It’s messy … somebody needs to say something. That would be a good Christmas present for East Auckland,” Burns said.
A statement from Luxon’s office said: “We understand Bishop’s office has provided a response. We will leave it with them and politely decline your request for the Prime Minister to comment”.
Plan Change 120 has drawn a mixed response with progressive groups like the Coalition For More Homes “stoked” to see more homes planned for Auckland, saying it would help with affordability, the environment, and people having close connections to the city centre.
On the other hand, the Character Coalition is upset at the loss of many villas and bungalows, and up-zoning for apartments in long-established suburbs like St Marys Bay, Parnell, Remuera, Kingsland, and Mt Eden.
Around the council table, Labour councillor Shane Henderson is excited about the benefits, such as improved affordability, that will come from housing intensification, while former National Minister Christine Fletcher is opposed to “radical rezoning” and believes a more reasonable target would be to allow for 1.2 to 1.4 million new homes.
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