Councils need to work with the Government to free up more land to help the housing concerns in Bay of Plenty, says Bay of Plenty MP Todd Muller.

In a speech to the Papamoa Progressive Association last night, Todd says though regional growth is welcomed, it brings with it other challenges like housing, especially for low income families.

Todd Muller.

He says a 'comprehensive raft of initiatives” are needed to solve housing and it starts with councils working with the Government to free up more land for development.

'Housing provision is an issue that defies the simple sound bite – to say ‘just build more houses' or ‘stop people coming to New Zealand' or ‘stop people investing in rental properties' is simplistic and doesn't fit New Zealand's reality.

'What's needed is, as always, a comprehensive raft of initiatives. It's not a ‘silver bullet solution' type of problem. There are a number of initiatives that have been put in place to respond to the demand for housing."

Todd believes housing supply needs to be lifted, saying "in Auckland the equivalent of 40 houses were being built a day".

He says the Government has also issued a national policy statement directing councils to free up land for supply, particularly in high growth areas like Tauranga.

The Government has also created a 'bright line test” to ensure investors who sell their investment property within two years will be liable for tax, adds Todd.

'We have data now on the tax resident status on all property sales, which will drive further changes if necessary. We have introduced a raft of special housing zones twelve of them here in our region to help facilitate faster developments.”

There are genuine examples of need here in the Bay and the migration from Auckland has exacerbated the challenge, while the big issue locally is the availability of lower cost housing and emergency housing, says Todd.

'The Budget included an announcement increasing the amount available for emergency housing and grants. For the Bay of Plenty, this will mean 60 places for individuals or families at any one time, for a maximum stay of thee months.

"Over a year the emergency housing will provide 240 places for the Bay of Plenty so this will ensure that our most vulnerable families have a safety net.”

Todd says the Government will also house more people by spending more on social housing tenancies and providing more social housing places than what currently exist. This includes 3000 more Income Related Rent Subsidy places by 2017/18.

'But we need to keep working on it, the pace of migration to our area and the need demands it. I am particularly focused on the effect of the proposed transfer of our 1200 Housing NZ homes to a potential buyer here in the Bay.

'It is critical this works. This has to result in more homes being built, both emergency for the short term and price accessible in the long term.”

In addition, Todd says every person currently in those houses have to feel supported through any transition from their current home to a new or refurbished option.

'This is not just a government problem. Our councils need to keep freeing up land to build more houses.

"Our developers need to ensure that affordable housing is part of their development plans and maybe there can be movement on development contribution costs to help facilitate this.”