David Shearer is burning down Labour’s housing policy

Labour’s wonky housing policy is already in tatters with David Shearer admitting that it is disingenuous to refer to it affordable housing when the reality is it should be affordable flats…and even then they aren’t that affordable.

Labour leader David Shearer has conceded his party’s affordable housing policy will only be able to deliver small apartments or terraced housing in Auckland for the $300,000 price tag – while standalone family homes are more likely to cost up to $550,000.

Labour’s policy to deliver 100,000 affordable homes over 10 years was the centrepiece of Mr Shearer’s State of the Nation address yesterday, aimed at setting out his new “hands-on” approach and priorities for the year.

When he announced the KiwiBuild policy last year, Mr Shearer said the aim was to put “Kiwi families” into their first homes at a cost of less than $300,000. Labour has repeatedly defended that figure despite National’s attempts to say it was dishonest because it promised the impossible.

The basic rule in politics with policy is under-promise and over deliver…it seems that David Shearer has taken the opposite approach, he has over promised, got loads of headlines and now the reality is slowly and painfully undoing his flagship policy.

Shearer says the “the aim was to put “Kiwi families” into their first homes at a cost of less than $300,000″. If that is the case he needs a better scope as he is missing the target by over $250,000.