Housing affordability Nick Smith leaps on councils' development charges

Sun, 10 Feb 2013

By Pattrick Smellie Feb 10 (BusinessDesk) -Newly appointed Housing Minister Nick Smith has wasted no time on returning to Cabinet with the announcement of a fundamental review of the way local governments charge developers for infrastructure like roading, drainage and water. The growth in so-called "development charges" by councils was identified as one of several reasons for too many New Zealanders facing unaffordable housing costs in a report by the New Zealand Productivity Commission last year. In a joint statement with Local Government...

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