Michael Fitzmaurice calls for emergency laws to deliver housing
Michael Fitzmaurice addressed the minister on housing, welcoming modular homes and new design steps while warning that rural housing remains overlooked. He called for emergency legislation to force development on zoned sites and to curb planning delays and judicial reviews he said will keep blocking the 300,000 houses figure.
He urged an urgent, uncompromising approach to housing delivery, arguing that sites designated and zoned for housing should be allowed to proceed at planned densities - 27 or 30 houses per acre - and that emergency legislation is required to make that happen.
He welcomed the inclusion of modular homes and the move to design similar types of houses, saying these are measures that should have been implemented years ago and are positive steps toward increasing supply.
He said he did not see enough emphasis on rural housing and stressed that family members should be accommodated in houses now, warning that the needs of rural communities must not be overlooked in broader plans.
He warned that the "devil will be in the detail" and predicted that, without emergency measures, planning delays and repeated judicial reviews will continue to block projects. He argued that the current approach must change and that authorities must be prepared to be "hard and get heavy" if they want to deliver houses for people.
Main position
He urged an urgent, uncompromising approach to housing delivery, arguing that sites designated and zoned for housing should be allowed to proceed at planned densities - 27 or 30 houses per acre - and that emergency legislation is required to make that happen.
Support for modular and design steps
He welcomed the inclusion of modular homes and the move to design similar types of houses, saying these are measures that should have been implemented years ago and are positive steps toward increasing supply.
Rural housing concerns
He said he did not see enough emphasis on rural housing and stressed that family members should be accommodated in houses now, warning that the needs of rural communities must not be overlooked in broader plans.
Implementation risks and judicial reviews
He warned that the "devil will be in the detail" and predicted that, without emergency measures, planning delays and repeated judicial reviews will continue to block projects. He argued that the current approach must change and that authorities must be prepared to be "hard and get heavy" if they want to deliver houses for people.
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Transcript
Minister, I spoke before on this. I hope this solves the housing thing. I do welcome the likes of the modular on it. I do welcome different steps that we are going to go design in the same type of house. These are things that should be done years ago, but you welcome that. I do not see a lot in rural housing, because I believe that family members should be built in a house, because what we need to do is make sure that we accommodate people now. The devil will be in the detail, 300,000 houses there. I hope we build them, but I will tell you one thing, we need to change our tune, in my opinion, and I have said this for the last four or five years, and this is not us against us. We need to bring in emergency legislation that if a site is designated for housing, if it is zoned, it is 27 or 30 houses per acre. What is the debate about? Give it planning, get it going. If we want to deliver, we have to ride roughshod over it, whether we like that or not. Emergency legislation is what I believe is required. If we keep fiddling around, what will happen is, I know that you are trying to stop the judicial reviews and stuff like that, but at the end of the day, with the best regard in the world, they will go to the courts and keep going to the courts and they will keep blocking it. This bullshit has to stop if we want to build houses. We have got to get hard and get heavy at it if we want to deliver for the people. I welcome the things. I wish you looked at it, but the devil will be in the detail over the coming years, and I think you will need the emergency legislation. I hope I am approved. Thank you.